


Recognized

by AgentIanLegend



Category: Danny Phantom, Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Confusion, Gen, IDENTITY SHENANIGANS, Identity Issues, Identity Reveal, Mistaken Identity, Mystery, Secret Identity, Zeta Beam, Zeta Tubes, but don't worry they will eventually, eventual identity reveal, globetrotting, nobody knows what's going on, there are so many Easter eggs and references it’s not even funny
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-28
Updated: 2019-11-29
Packaged: 2019-12-26 00:16:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 96,669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18271973
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AgentIanLegend/pseuds/AgentIanLegend
Summary: When they heard the fateful words "Recognized: Robin - B01," nothing could have prepared them for the web of secrets which would unravel as Daniel Fenton and Richard Grayson search for answers.Rated K-plus for action, themes, and occasional language. Definitely not your typical DP/YJ crossover. Now updating monthly on Friday's around 6:00 PM CEST. (Chapters 1-11 had already been published on another site.)





	1. Alleys

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, everyone! If you're a FFN.net reader like I am, this work may seem familiar. That's because...it is. I decided to cross-post it on AO3 so readers on here may be able to enjoy it as well. The first 10 chapters have already been published, and I will be uploading them here over the course of the next couple days as I find moments here and there to upload. (I *AM* a graduate design student, so free time is at a premium haha)
> 
> [Cross-posted on Fanfiction]
> 
>  
> 
> IMPORTANT TIMELINE CLARIFICATIONS:
> 
> \- Recognized takes place a few months after season 3 of DP and two years after the finale of YJ season 1. (PSA: Young Justice season 3 is apparently in production, and I'm stoked!)
> 
> \- Danny is now 15-going-on-16. This story is going off the assumption that DP season 1 took place in Danny's freshman year, season 2 bleeds over between his freshman and sophomore year, and season 3 covers most of the sophomore year. This story picks up during the latter half of Danny's sophomore year, so not all the final episodes have necessarily happened yet. "Phantom Planet" certainly hasn't.
> 
> \- While Dick is also 15-almost-16, he most likely skipped a year or started school early and is now a junior. After all, he was 13 and a freshman at Gotham Academy according to YJ S1E12 "Homefront," and for those of you not from America, you would typically turn 15 during your freshman year, not 14.
> 
> \- Wally, Artemis and the others are now high school seniors.
> 
> Ch. 1 originally published: Friday, May 25, 2018

Danny shuddered to think of how long it had been since he'd last had a completely enjoyable, uninterrupted day. This bright early-March Saturday morning had shaped up to be just that until his ghost sense had paused a heated battle on _Doomed_ , tearing the boy away from his comfortable room and out into the sunshine. Yes, getting some vitamin D is good for anyone, including half-dead teens; he merely wished it could be under better circumstances and after this round of _Doomed_ had finished.

This ghost, a winged gorilla which could very well be one of Plasmius' creations, had decided to make a break for freedom rather than staying in Amity Park. Despite the undead beast's considerable size, it very nearly outran Danny. He wondered, after cresting the Appalachians, just how long the ghost could keep up this speed because he was beginning to struggle himself.

Eventually, the gorilla and Danny broke through a thick cloud cover and descended into a large, dirty, oppressive coastal city. The gorilla lost Danny when it made a beeline for a decrepit neighborhood outside the business district. The boy alighted on top of a residential block and sat panting for a few moments as he tried to catch his breath. He peered out over the neighborhood looking for any sign of the gorilla. Upon finding the incriminating green glow of a ghost in a nearby alley, Danny smirked victoriously and took off to capture it.

The gorilla was smart despite its animal appearance. It faked a right hook at the hero which Phantom easily dodged, but the ghost used its rotational momentum to extend its left wing and clothesline Danny as it spun around. Danny was knocked back but somersaulted back to his feet instead of tumbling to the ground.

"Hey, I didn't know I could do that!" he said gleefully as he amazed himself with such acrobatic abilities. His joy was unfortunately short-lived. "Oh crap…"

The gorilla had used Danny's distraction to lunge at the boy with a ferocious roar and tackle him to the pavement, straddling his chest. The wind was knocked out of him, and his transformation rings flickered momentarily around his waist. But he suppressed his core's cry of 'uncle' and the rings vanished. He had come this far and would be _DAMNED_ if that winged gorilla beat him now.

Said ghost raised a fist to crush the boy's face as the Danny fought his reflex. Danny, though, quickly went intangible and sunk into the pavement out of harm's way. The gorilla roared once again at the pain when its fist splintered the ground rather than Danny's skull.

Danny then rocketed up through the ground and shoved himself full-force into the beast's stomach, throwing him into a wall as he flew. As the ghost crumpled, Danny stood gripping his side as it cramped from the exertion.

"Alright, ghost. I'd say that's tag, you're it."

The ghost stirred and raised itself to its feet once more. But, being that it was moving very slowly, Danny saw his opportunity. He reached for the thermos and uncapped it, aiming it at his difficult foe. As he pressed the activation button, the ghost delivered a massive final blow to the boy's chest. He was propelled backwards, but the tractor beam of the containment device grappled onto its target as the boy sailed through the air. All at once, the ghost was contained, Danny lost his fight to stay in ghost mode, and he arced towards a long-forgotten telephone box.

As he flew, he curled instinctively into a ball and braced for impact, but it never came. He stopped instead, frozen in mid air, made a temporary prisoner of whatever power there was over him. And with a flash of light, the garbage-ridden alley disappeared.

" _Recognized: Robin B-01."_

* * *

"Hey KF, have you seen my DS? I can't find it anywhere."

A mouthful of chips delayed the reply. "Check between the sofa cushions."

"That's what I'm doing right now!" Robin snapped. Artemis and Aqualad watched on as cushions went flying left and right. "Could you come help me look?"

"But I'm eating!"

Robin straightened with a defeated posture and miserable expression. "Aw come on, we all know you'll find it ten times faster."

"Ugh, fine, but you'll owe me."

Before Robin or the other two assembled team members could blink, a yellow blur had blasted through the room, and Robin's blemished DS now rested in his hand.

"Thanks. Where was it?"

"Under the coffee table. How about the next time you run off on a mission, you put it down first so it doesn't go flying?"

Robin chuckled nervously as he straightened the furniture. "I'll try to remember."

"Hey when do Miss M and Supey get back from that school thing?"

"I dunno, I think they said an hour from now," Dick replied, reclining in a chair with his newly recovered DS.

" _Recognized: Robin B-01."_

Kid Flash and Robin both did double-takes at the sound of the zeta beam computer's electronic voice. "Wait…what?!" they cried in unison.

Kid Flash, Robin, Aqualad, and Artemis all stood and ran to the zeta tube simultaneously. The figure of a black-haired teen boy came flying out of the portal in a ball and tumbled across the floor, gripping an object tightly as his limbs flailed. He came to a stop on his stomach right at Robin and Kid Flash's feet. He lay almost completely motionless for a few moments, his breathing the only sign of life. He then began to stir and moaned shortly.

"Ugh, what happened to the garbage smell? Not that I'm _complaining_..." the teen muttered as he laboriously got onto all-fours and coughed, panting heavily. He began to stand but only made it onto one knee before he froze at the sight of other people's legs next to him. His eyes darting left and right, the boy's head cautiously raised to see who was motionlessly observing him.

"Holy sh..." His voiced died in his throat when he locked onto Robin. The Boy Wonder flinched, because it was like looking into a mirror were he out of his domino mask. The boy unwittingly fell back as the heroes surrounded him with defensive battle stances. His face went from horror to awe in fractions of a second as he realized who they were, a maniacal fanboy grin splitting his face. "You...You're-"

"Dick Grayson?!" Kid Flash shouted disbelievingly. It had taken a few moments, but he'd finally placed the boy's appearance. "But-" He caught himself before speaking further but couldn't help looking to make sure Robin was indeed still standing next to him.

Robin was the definition of stoic, his face not showing any outward sign of emotion while he was looking at essentially a duplicate of himself. It was more than obvious to Kid Flash, though, that his friend's thoughts were racing.

"Who's Dick Grayson?" the kid finally replied, halfway between confusion and offense as he began to stand again. The tensing of every team member present discouraged him from standing fully. He instead raised his hands placatingly in surrender. From his body language, he appeared just as mystified at his arrival in the cave as they were.

Robin frowned when this mystery kid's voice even sounded like his own. From the looks of everyone around him, they found something familiar about him as well. This was getting far too weird and close for comfort.

"Wait…" KF turned helplessly to his friend.

"Richard Grayson is the ward of billionaire Bruce Wayne," Robin replied automatically as he tried desperately to evaluate the situation. He mentally reiterated the word 'clone,' the business with Roy Harper still fresh in his mind.

"Oh, that guy," the boy muttered pensively.

"Well, you're clearly _not_ Dick Grayson, so who are you supposed to be?" Artemis demanded.

"Just some kid who got chased into an alley and shoved into an old phone box. Then physics went all weird, some lady with _no_ emotion at all said 'Recognized: Robin-whatever,' and then there was a flash of light and then boom, I'm here. Where, uh…where _is_ here?"

"That is none of your concern," Aqualad responded levelly. "What _is_ your concern is how you were _able_ to get here."

"I dunno, dude. Like I said, I was just in an alley and I got thrown into a telephone booth. Can I stand up now?"

After a moment of consideration, Aqualad nodded and everyone slightly relaxed their postures. Robin extended a hand and pulled the boy to his feet, taking note of how they were precisely the same height and build. Their similarities did not escape Artemis and Aqualad's notice. Danny wilted under Robin's bat-glare-in-training.

"So again: what. is. your. name," Robin insisted.

"D-Danny?" the boy stuttered. "Uh, yeah, Danny."

"Are you sure?" Artemis asked drily.

"Yes, I'm sure!" Danny replied. "Of course I'm sure what my name is. YOU try keeping your cool in front of a group of heroes!"

"I do. Daily."

Danny glowered, but he didn't have enough energy to think of a comeback so instead focused on remaining upright.

"Danny what?" Robin continued.

"Fenton."

Robin glanced expectantly at the others, hoping for some sign of recognition on their faces. Apparently no one else had heard of Danny Fenton either.

"So, you wanna explain to me how the heck I got here and why that computer lady thought I was you?" Danny asked then turned to Kid Flash. "And why YOU thought I was Dick Grayson?" KF grinned sheepishly.

"Well, *Danny,*" Robin replied, "I can tell you that you were just teleported via zeta-beam from an alleyway in Gotham City-"

"So _that's_ where I was…"

"-and brought to a top-secret Justice League location which you don't need to know anything more about. And _he_ thought you look like Richard Grayson because you look almost identical."

"I do?" Danny suddenly reached for his pocket causing most of the teens to jump back into defensive positions. "Whoa, chill! I'm just getting my phone!" He weakly held up his hands in surrender. He slowly reached for his pocket and took out a smartphone which had clearly seen better days. Everyone relaxed, but Robin scrutinized the surprisingly harsh damage to the device which matched that of his own battle-scarred phone.

Danny searched for an image of Dick Grayson before opening the camera app to take a selfie. He then opened Photos and compared the two as the heroes crowded around him to see.

Seeing it confirmed on the phone only served to unsettle Robin further. Here was a mysterious teenager who sounded like him, looked like him, and got past the zeta-beam's security measures with _his. SECRET. identity_.

"Oh my gosh…" Danny looked up at Robin. "That's so weird. There's no way we can be related though. I'm from the boring old Ohio and he's like Romanian or something."

' _Romani,'_ Robin growled mentally.

"So if you're from Ohio, then what were you doing in a grimy alley in the Gotham?" Artemis asked accusingly.

"Getting some soup to go?" Kid Flash added, motioning to the forgotten thermos on the floor. Danny quickly picked it up and clutched it to his chest. "Hey, can I have some?" His teammates all stared at him incredulously. "What?! All these surprises made me hungry."

"No, not soup. That's just, uh, my lucky charm?" Danny replied. Robin's quirked eyebrow was all the confirmation he needed that no one was buying it. "Actually, speaking of food, do you happen to have a snack or something? I'm starving."

Everyone turned to Kid Flash. "Oh yeah, of COURSE you all look at me," he whined but dutifully zipped to the kitchen and returned with a granola bar and bottle of water. Danny accepted them gratefully and immediately chugged half the water.

"So, Danny, what threw you into the phone booth?" Robin asked.

"It was a…monster."

"What kind of monster?" Robin pressed.

Danny sighed. "You'll probably think I'm crazy."

"You said you accessed the most secure transportation network in the world by accident. We already think you're crazy," Artemis said with a quirked eyebrow.

Danny shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Alright, you asked for it: do you believe in ghosts?"

Artemis tensed, remembering her night out with Zatanna. "What kind of ghost?" she asked with sudden interest.

"A gorilla with wings."

"A…gorilla."

"With wings, yeah. Normally our local hero takes care of it, but this one got away and grabbed me and took me to Gotham, apparently. I fought back and finally trapped him, but he knocked me into that phone booth as I got him."

"How did you trap him?"

"Um...in this," he replied defeatedly and held out the thermos. "It's a thermos, but it's built to hold ghosts, not soup. Yes, the design is stupid, but it works."

"So, a doppelgänger of Dick Grayson accidentally enters the zeta tube under Robin's call sign after trapping a flying gorilla in a soup thermos," Artemis drawled. "You sure seem on the level."

"Hey, you don't know my life," Danny snapped back before biting angrily into the granola bar.

"No," Artemis replied as she slowly crept into Danny's personal space. "I don't." He flinched under her scrutinizing glare.

Robin rolled his eyes behind his mask, agreeing that the alleged Danny Fenton needed investigating before anything sinister could happen. The aftershock of Roy's replacement clone still resonated with the entire team.

"Look, this has been fun and all, but can I go home now?" Danny asked. Seemingly as an afterthought, he added, "My parents are probably looking for me."

Robin turned to Aqualad and asked, "What's the nearest zeta-beam to Ohio?"

"Green Lantern has one in Detroit?" the Atlantian suggested.

"That'll have to do. If we take you to Detroit, can you get home from there?" Robin asked Danny.

"Oh, yeah, sure thing." Danny seemed to glow with an inner smile at an unspoken joke.

"Great. I'll take you."

"You will?" he asked in surprise.

"You're going to have a bag over your head so you don't learn another zeta-tube location, sooo...yeah."

"Oh." Danny frowned then looked around at the others. "Well, nice to meet you guys, I guess? Thanks for the snack." He briefly glanced between Robin and Kid Flash — who both felt self-conscious at being looked over — before shrugging and turning to Aqualad. "I hope you figure out the security whatever. Or I might just come say 'hi' again," he finished with a mischievous smile as he and Robin went to the zeta-beam. The Boy Wonder then produced a black sack and held it out so Danny could at least put it on himself. The teen sighed and obliged.

" _Recognized: Robin, B-01."_

"I wonder which one of us it meant," Danny quipped as they transported to Detroit. Dick couldn't help but share his thought.

After being led in circles a few blocks away from wherever the beam's location had been, Robin stopped the pair and removed Danny's hood. They stood in an alley across the street from the art deco Guardian Building.

"Well, I don't know what to say, dude," Danny said with a hand rubbing his neck, breaking the tense silence which had oppressed them since leaving the cave. "Thanks for taking me *sort of* home, I guess?" He gestured weakly at their surroundings. "Sorry about accidentally breaking into your top secret base. And thanks for being so surprisingly cool about it. I know *I* wouldn't be," he finished with a chuckle.

"Hey, accidents happen. Consider it forgotten," Robin replied.

It was very much not forgotten.

As Danny turned to leave, Robin called, "Hey, wait!"

"Yeah?" Danny paused.

Robin tried to act slightly bashful and excited. "Can I take a photo with you?"

Danny contorted his face at Robin's sudden change of attitude. "With me? Why?!"

"You're the first person to ever get past zeta protocols. I think that's memorable enough to demand a souvenir." He quirked a half-smile to come off as friendly as possible with the boy who'd acted far too shifty for his taste.

"Wow, a superhero wants a photo with me? This is so cool!" Danny said to himself.

"I'm not a superhero, Danny. I don't have powers."

"Still..." The two boys smiled brightly as Robin took a selfie on his decoy phone.

"Well I wasn't going to ask, but could I get a photo too then?" Danny asked with his own genuine smile. "My friends will NEVER believe me otherwise."

"Sure! Just don't tell them what you saw, or where the Gotham zeta-tube is."

"Of course!" Danny pulled out his own phone and the two once more smiled for the camera.

"Thanks, dude. Good luck fighting crime." He cringed and shook his head at how stupid and awkward that had sounded.

"Thanks. Stay whelmed." Robin shook his hand before walking away and weaving through the crowds. Danny stood staring after the hero.

' " _Whelmed"?'_ Danny thought to himself.

As soon as Robin had disappeared, Danny jumped into action. He quickly found a quiet spot to transform and turned invisible as he began scanning the crowds from above. He had been taken prisoner enough times to have learned to memorize his movements when his vision is otherwise impaired. Robin must have thought he had been clever to do a figure-eight before stopping two blocks northeast, but Danny had paid close attention. Sure enough, Robin stole into yet another alley seconds later before jumping into an alcove obscured by a dumpster.

" _Recognized: Robin B-01."_

Danny quickly saved the location on his phone's map app before rocketing off home to Amity Park, texting Sam and Tucker to meet him at the Nasty Burger in about 45 minutes.

* * *

When Robin returned to Mount Justice, everyone was waiting in the living area, including Megan and Connor who had returned from their school event. The former was in human form and placing cookie dough on a tray in the kitchen while the latter lounged on the couches with Wally. All eyes immediately fell on Robin as he distractedly squeezed past Megan before grabbing a soda from the fridge. He then walked swiftly over to the glass wall overlooking the hangar and took a long sip of soda.

Robin would have been vibrating with energy had Batman not trained him to contain extreme emotion. Based on his behavior, conscious and subconscious, the boy who had (allegedly) accidentally broken into Mount Justice was completely oblivious to the situation and its implications. Danny appeared to be an exact copy of himself, whether that be by relation, cloning, or utter coincidence.

Kid Flash, the only other person in the cave who knew Robin's alter ego, had been flailing mentally. His best friend had essentially just met his own body double, but could do nothing outwardly to react or investigate it with the intensity his instinct mandated. Doing so would only make the team more suspicious as to his secret identity than they were already. Wally himself couldn't react either, because he wasn't supposed to be privy to Robin's second identity.

"Hey Rob? You okay?" KF asked eagerly after a couple minutes of silence.

"No," he answered too quickly, revealing his barely-controlled agitation. He whipped around, his cape flaring dramatically. "How did a complete stranger get past the zeta tube's security? What was a kid doing in a back alley in the slums of Gotham? What is he hiding? Because there's clearly something. And most of all," he finished for the sake of his secret identity, "why is there a kid who looks and sounds _exactly_ like Richard Grayson of all people, and how did he get to Mount Justice on my call sign using a hidden teleportation network?!"

"Those are all pertinent questions," Aqualad replied, "the answers to which I am sure you will find in due time."

"True. I'm off to the Batcave. See you all later." He bolted to the zeta-tube and left.

"Is nobody going to mention how that kid kinda looks and sounds like Robin too?" Artemis commented quietly to Wally. He was too sheepish to reply, the unspoken golden rule of heroism preventing him from outing another hero's identity to others. Though for Artemis, Robin's carefully maintained façade had begun to crumble.

 


	2. Coincidence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> IMPORTANT TIMELINE CLARIFICATIONS:
> 
> \- Recognized takes place a few months after season 3 of DP and two years after the finale of YJ season 1. (PSA: Young Justice season 3 is apparently in production, and I'm stoked!) I previously [temporarily] made this ONE year after season 1, but the timeline works better this way I think.
> 
> \- Danny is now 15-going-on-16. This story is going off the assumption that DP season 1 took place in Danny's freshman year, season 2 bleeds over between his freshman and sophomore year, and season 3 covers most of the sophomore year. This story picks up during the latter half of Danny's sophomore year, so not all the final episodes have necessarily happened yet. "Phantom Planet" certainly hasn't.
> 
> \- While Dick is also 15-almost-16, he most likely skipped a year or started school early and is now a junior. After all, he was 13 and a freshman at Gotham Academy according to YJ S1E12 "Homefront," and for those of you not from America, you would typically turn 15 during your freshman year, not 14.
> 
> \- Wally, Artemis and the others are now high school seniors.

As soon as Danny burst into the Nasty Burger, he made a beeline for the trio's favorite table. Sam and Tucker were sitting patiently on the same side of the booth with half-eaten food in front of them and an untouched meal across the table. He sat down heavily with an ear-to-ear grin on his face across from Sam and Tucker and didn't say a word.

"Hey, Danny," Tucker greeted.

Danny managed to grin wider.

"Okay Danny, what's going on?" Sam asked tiredly, more than used to her friends' antics.

"I- You-" Danny shook his head and began to snicker. It devolved into a full giggle fit, the poor boy breaking into hysterics as what had happened that morning hit him all at once.

"Dude, seriously, what's up?" Tucker said, smirking slightly at his lunatic friend.

Danny, still unable to form words because of the strength of his grin, merely took out his phone and opened the photos app. He enlarged a photo and slid the device across the table to his friends, still shaking his head and grinning maniacally.

Tucker and Sam's jaws dropped simultaneously. "You met Robin?!" the boy asked barely below a shout. Danny nodded his head and suffered from another uncontrollable giggle fit while his friends stared at the photo.

Danny finally got ahold of himself and gasped, all of the merriment draining from him at once. "I just accidentally broke into a Justice League base and took selfies with the Boy Wonder. Holy crap, that sounds so surreal when I say it out loud…" He grabbed what was apparently his soda to take a large gulp. "Oh no, what if they put me on a Justice League watch list?!"

"What?! Why would they do that?" Tucker exclaimed.

"Because I broke in, Tuck! It's not like I was invited to their super-secret base! They probably think I'm a criminal. They might even find out my secret! Great. The Guys in White I can handle, but oh my gosh, if they send Superman after me, or Wonder Woman,…?" He gulped, but then smiled dreamily to himself. "Although that one I wouldn't mind…"

"Word," Tucker agreed, and they fist-bumped.

"What was he doing in Amity Park?" Sam asked, trying to get the conversation back on track.

"He wasn't here."

"So where were you?"

"I don't know where. And Gotham City and Detroit."

"You don't know where?"

"And Gotham and Detroit, yeah. Detroit came last. That's where we took the photo. Weird thing is, he wanted one too."

"So where were you before Detroit?" Sam pressed.

"Like I said, I don't know. I was in Gotham City and then all of a sudden I was in a cave, and guys, oh my gosh, I met so many League sidekicks! Robin, Kid Flash, Aqualad, that archer chick…"

"Dude, this is insane!" Tucker said. What were you even doing there?"

"Alright." He leaned in so he could tell them his tale. "So there was this ghost that I chased all the way to Gotham this morning, right?"

"Who was it this time?" Sam mentally began preparing adequate revenge schemes for whoever would be so much trouble to catch.

"None that we've seen before," Danny answered. "It was a gorilla with wings."

"Sounds like one of Plasmius' creations," Tucker mused.

"Plasmius, huh?" A glimmer of mischief shone on Sam's face.

"Probably. Anyway, I finally caught it in an alley, but I was worn out at this point, so it got in a couple of good hits, including right as I caught it. He knocked me into this random old phone booth-"

His thoughts were interrupted when his phone was suddenly whipped out of his hands. Danny whirled in his seat to glare.

"Hey, guys, look: Fenturd learned Photoshop!" lifelong bully Dash Baxter crowed. Paulina, Kwan and Star all cackled cruelly as he held up the phone.

"Give me back my phone, Dash," Danny groaned, not even bothering to try and convince them it was a real photo.

"As if you could ever be cool enough to meet a superhero," Dash said as he roughly shoved the phone against Danny's chest. He reacted automatically and grabbed it before it could fall.

"I'm plenty cool," Danny muttered darkly as they left in laughter. He glared before making a show of taking his house keys out of his pocket and dropping them under the table. "Oops," he said theatrically and bent down to grab them. He touched his hand to the restaurant's linoleum and let a thin layer of frost chase after the A-listers. It passed underfoot and caused each of them to cry out, slip and flail dramatically while falling to the floor. Danny sat back up again with a self-satisfied expression.

"As you were saying?" Sam prodded as she did her best to ignore the comical scene unfolding behind Danny. Tucker slily balanced his phone on the table to record the A-listers as they repeatedly slipped on the ice while trying to stand again.

"So physics got all weird when I flew inside the booth. I was just hovering there, but not on ghost power." Tucker looked up from his phone screen. "And then, this computer lady said, 'Recognized: Robin B-01,' there was a flash of light and then suddenly I was in this gigantic cave surrounded by superhero sidekicks."

"Dude…"

"I know!" Danny leaned back in his seat, Sam and Tucker following suit yet still riveted to what he was saying. "But get this: Kid Flash thought I was Richard Grayson!"

"He did?" Sam asked incredulously.

"Yeah. I looked up a photo of him on my phone and he was right. I do look kinda like Grayson."

"No way!" Tucker stopped the recording and began a search for the socialite.

"Actually, I feel like I've seen him before, and one of the other guys. He-"

"Holy crap." Tucker's face went from amazed to confused to completely shocked. Danny remained silent while Sam leaned over to look before her eyes widened comically and darted between Danny and the phone screen.

"Danny…you don't just look similar; you two look exactly alike," she said.

"Weird, huh?" Danny commented vaguely.

"This is more than weird. Here, gimme your phone again." Danny passed his phone back to Sam, the selfie with Robin still on his screen. She looked back and forth between the devices and Danny himself who had taken to munching on Tucker's fries. "Um, Tuck? Are you seeing this?" she asked.

Tucker also scrutinized the phones. He absently took a large gulp of soda, but he suddenly choked on it and caused some to break free of his mouth and drench his half-eaten hamburger. Sam and Danny both jumped at his reaction, but Danny was the only one to laugh at his friend. Both Sam and Tucker stared Danny down as he got control of his laughter once again. His eyebrow eventually quirked up at the intensity of their gazes. "Guys? Why-wha-what is it? You're kinda freaking me out…"

Sam turned both phones around and propped them upright on the table so Danny could see. "Notice anything?"

Danny looked puzzled for a few moments as he tried to find what had shocked his friends before looking at the pictures as a whole. Features began to stand out: the jawline, approximate height and lanky build, hair color and type, mouth shape and smile, ears… Were Robin not in a mask, Danny wouldn't be surprised if he shared the same blue eyes.

"Whoa…Are you guys thinking what I'm thinking?" Danny asked.

"Yeah," Sam breathed.

Danny's face lit up. "Guys…we just figured out Robin's secret identity!" he whispered giddily.

Instead of sharing in his excitement, Tucker's brow furrowed, and Sam huffed frustratedly. "No, you idiot. Don't you get it? Look closer. Look at you," the girl insisted.

Danny leaned in once more, unsure of what he'd find. He gripped his phone in his right hand while his left ran absently through his hair. Danny looked over the features once more: jaw, build, hair, mouth, eyes…

"Oh."

And suddenly, the dots connected. The worry of joining a watchlist amplified, Robin's strong initial reaction to his presence starting to make more sense. Danny's phone slipped from his grip, but he couldn't find the mental faculty to move his arm from its outstretched position on the table.

"That means I look just like Robin too…"

The batcave was austere and vacant upon Robin's arrival. The ominous, ever-present squeaking of the bats' echolocation and the spring sunshine's inability to penetrate the rock caused Robin's growing solitude in the face of a blossoming mystery to manifest. He sped across the Batcave to the workstation, not even bothering to remove his domino mask, while typing furiously on his glove's holographic screen. He pulled up the selfie he'd taken with Danny and, with a simple gesture in midair, flicked the image onto the cave's computer. He tossed his dummy phone onto the work surface and sat heavily in the large desk chair.

Robin immediately initiated a search for the mysterious boy. A yearbook photo of Daniel James Fenton appeared on the monitor next to the selfie. Robin punched in a quick command, and a white matrix of lines appeared dancing over the two Danny's before locking in place and turning green.

'Match: 100%'

"Okay, so this kid is definitely Danny Fenton of Amity Park, Ohio," Robin mumbled to himself in the vacant cave. Next, he ran the analysis again comparing himself and Danny in the selfie.

'Match: 83.77%'

Another command and the computer digitally removed the boy's iconic domino mask, transposing the unseen features of his face onto the photograph from a digital point cloud?) scan of Dick Grayson's face. The matrices reconfigured before locking once again.

'Match: 94.28%'

Robin's eye twitched. As a final confirmation, he pulled up his and Bruce's most recent Christmas card portrait before initializing the analysis one final time.

'Match: 99.53%'

Taking off his mask, Dick let it fall limply to the ground and leaned forward to rest his elbows on the desk. He had no idea why this was beginning to affect him so much; he already knew he and Danny were identical. But, there was something about having the truth flashing blatantly on the screen in front of him which shook Dick to his core. There was no denying it now; even dopplegängers wouldn't produce a facial match this close. Danny was either a clone, knowingly or unknowingly, or Dick had a long-lost identical twin brother of some sort.

The latter was unlikely, in his mind. For one, he found it insane that his loving, open parents wouldn't have told him about another brother, albeit one they may have had to put up for adoption due to the financial instability of life in the circus. Plus, he knew the world's greatest detective would have checked on every biographical detail of Dick's life, so they would have already known about a brother and most likely told him. Most of all, though, the zeta-beam would require an exact DNA match, and even identical twins shared only 99% of their genes at best.

And if he had felt so alone, so hurt, so vulnerable these past years because he thought he was the only Grayson left while in actuality he had a brother to turn to…

An event which drew Dick's attention further from the twin theory was a complication on his first mission with the team of protégés. He hadn't expected things to go so awry when his infiltration-turned-storming of Project Cadmus' facilities resulted in his temporary capture. Fortunately, Superboy had prevented the full downloading of his, Kid Flash and Aqualad's minds.

But who's to say they hadn't managed to get at least a DNA sample?

Dick sighed and decided to see how extensive Danny Fenton's life had been documented. He re-initiated the search and sorted through school records, news reports, social media accounts and pretty much any information he could unearth. It was fairly easy to identify a falsified background. Sudden and recent long-distance moves, a lack of interpersonal connections, no signs of loans or credit cards and relative anonymity were all signs he was looking for.

But no.

Danny had lived in Amity Park his entire life. He had two lifelong friends, Samantha Manson and Tucker Foley, with innumerable photos of the three together from a number of local sources. Granted, he didn't have debt or any sort of credit, but what fifteen-year-old did? And while Danny apparently wasn't popular, he was frequently at the edge of the limelight due to his ghost-hunting parents' constant presence in the local news. This last detail only further verified Danny's story of how he ended up at the cave. Of course he would be targeted by a ghost and carry a containment device; his parents were ghost hunters. It seemed as if Danny's existence was starting to check out.

The clone theory was starting to unravel also. It was unlikely the real Danny Fenton could be swapped out for a clone without anybody noticing, unless Danny looked like Dick to begin with. That would require far too many coincidences in order to work. If he were a clone of Robin, it would have had to have been done recently, at least in the past six years since taking on his role as Robin. And it probably wouldn't have been a clone of a young Dick Grayson, because who on earth would clone a kid in the circus? That would mean that someone in Danny's life was involved, since it would entail the falsification of the identity of a child, which would be most likely his parents merely pretending he were their son.

But why the hell would they do that?

Dick conceded to himself that it wasn't entirely illogical that someone had cloned Grayson after his relocation to Gotham. Insidious plots involving the world's elite did arise, hero personas aside, so it wasn't entirely without question that Danny wasn't a copy of his socialite side. So, while this was a slim possibility, it was a possibility nonetheless.

The clone-of-Robin theory was still very likely since it wasn't impossible for Danny's identity to have been crafted exceptionally well by one of Robin's usual nemeses. What worried him even more, though, was the knowledge they were all intelligent and cunning. They would quickly see that Robin's genetic copy looks like Dick Grayson and be able to put two and two together. His and Bruce's carefully - tediously - maintained identities could now be at stake, if they weren't already compromised. Suddenly, he found himself hoping beyond hope that his parents and Bruce had covered up a brother who was whisked away well before fate could strike cruelly and swiftly in the Graysons' lives.

With conscious ignorance of the hunger setting in, Dick began the arduous task of carefully sorting through all the data on Danny Fenton to try and find a single overlooked detail, anything which could indicate the identity was falsified in some way. An incriminating pattern quickly arose. Starting his freshman year, Danny's behavior became uncharacteristic and erratic. The younger child of two scientists who once had a promising future now struggled with chronic attendance issues and barely passable grades. His reputation plummeted in almost every sense.

Perhaps it was merely a coincidence that it happened the fall after Cadmus could have acquired Robin's DNA.

Perhaps not.

He continued to peruse the data looking for any other evident changes starting Danny's freshman year, anything that could prove Danny was a replacement and the Fentons were involved in the plot. Dick moved on to official records and happened to open his birth certificate first.

Huh. It was French.

Dick was French.

Only legally, of course. His parents were Romani, but Haly's Circus was performing in Paris when his mother went into labor. Mary and John were sightseeing on the steps of Sainte-Chapelle when her water broke, and she was rushed to the nearest hospital. It happened to be a block away, still on Île-de-la-Cité, an old hospital called-

Né(e) à: L'Hôpital de l'Hôtel Dieu, Île-de-la-Cité, Paris, France

Dick's pulse began to quicken while his breathing slowed to accommodate. Okay, they could have been born at the same hospital, but that didn't mean they were necessarily born the same day…

Surely it was merely another coincidence; he was certainly starting to encounter a lot of those when it came to Danny Fenton. But when his gaze flicked to the date of birth, Dick slumped back in his chair. His favorite television detective had had a conversation with his brother about coincidence. Sherlock Holmes' words echoed through his mind.

"The universe is rarely so lazy."

Né(e) le: vingt mars, 2002

March 20th, 2002. The first day of spring. Dick's birthday.

His stomach rolled with nothing to digest as the stress and confusion overtook him. He steepled his hands in front of him as he'd seen Bruce do countless times.

"I am SO not whelmed…" he couldn't help but confess to himself.

It was starting to appear equally as likely that either Danny was a maladjusted clone who didn't really understand what was going on, or he was a twin of Dick's who somehow silently got separated from the Grayson family. As the birth certificate, yearbook photo and selfie stared tauntingly at him, Dick stared back, willing the screen into giving him a straightforward answer. As it predictably didn't, he eventually dropped his hands and let his forearms hang loosely over the arms of the chair.

"Perhaps it is time to revisit the lives of the late Graysons."

He jolted upright, still amazed that it was Alfred of all people who could manage to sneak up on Robin and not Batman himself. He briefly wondered if the butler applied pieces of felt to the soles of his shoes for added stealth. He certainly wouldn't put it past the stately Englishman; after all, Bruce had to learn his theatrics from someone.

"Perhaps it is, Alfred," he replied suspiciously. "Would you, by any chance, be able to explain how I, Dick Grayson, managed to break into Mount Justice in civvies while I, Robin, was already there?"

The atmosphere of the Nasty Burger turned almost teasing as the other patrons chattered and ate as if everything made sense in the world. For three occupants, though, the universe had become even more complex than it did on that fateful day in early freshman year.

"No wonder Robin was acting so weird," Danny grumbled cynically. "He watched himself break into the Justice League base when he was already there! That must be why he wanted my photo. He must have wanted to analyze it or something..."

"This is too weird," Tucker breathed.

It was unsettling; it shook Danny to his core. His gut sank as the boundaries of what was and wasn't possible blurred. There was absolutely no denying the fact that Danny Fenton, Richard Grayson and Robin were identical. The big question was…

"How?"

Danny's single-word question grounded him. "Are we related? Was I adopted too? Is he another one of Vlad's clones like Dani? Am-" A lump caught in his throat. "Am I the clone?" he whispered, almost afraid to even voice the thought as he clutched at his chest with his left hand.

"Well, they say we have like 7 dopplegängers in the world, so it could just all be a big coincidence?" Sam weakly suggested.

"I don't know about that, Sam," Tucker replied. "Considering he was teleported to a Justice League location, I'd say Danny probably traveled by zeta-beam. I read about them when we did that technology research project for Lancer last year. The recognition software goes off of an advanced full-body profiling including remote DNA sampling. In other words, you would have to have Dick Grayson-slash-Robin's exact DNA for it to work."

"So that must mean- um…yeah," Sam began but hesitated. She looked down at her abandoned meal with a pained expression on her face.

"What is it, Sam?" Danny asked warily. Her expression was more than enough to let him know he wouldn't like her next words.

She took a deep breath and looked back up at him. "Even identical twins only share 99.9% of their DNA, so in order for the zeta-beam tech to work, that means you have the exact same DNA, which means…"

The unspoken truth of 'One of you is probably a clone' danced invisibly through their minds. Each of them lowered their heads to stare blankly at the table.

"Whatever is going on here, Danny," Sam eventually said, "remember you're still you. It doesn't matter how you came to be Danny Fenton, but you always have been, always are, and always will be *you.*" She gripped Danny's right hand, which still lay stretched towards the phones, and squeezed it reassuringly. The two shared a small smile.

"So what do we do?" Danny asked.

Above ground, everything at Wayne Manor appeared as normal as could be. The grand Gothic revival mansion looked stately as ever as the coastal fog made way for the afternoon sun. The landscaping staff bustling around the grounds provided a false sense of serene normality to the home, a cacophony of mowers and trimmers keeping the home from becoming oppressively silent.

The china set shifted slightly as Alfred set the tray down on the counter. Like many households around the world, Wayne Manor seemed to host most of its important discussions at the kitchen breakfast bar. Dick, now in civilian clothes, took a shortbread cookie from the plate while Alfred steeped a pot of tea.

"When Bruce adopted you as his ward," Alfred began, "we conducted a full investigation of your history to uncover any other potential threats from the Graysons' and Haly's Circus' pasts. Everything appeared to be above suspicion...apart from one detail."

Dick leaned forward eagerly.

"When you were born at Hôtel Dieu Hospital in Paris," the butler explained, "your parents were ecstatic, as you can imagine. However, amidst the joy, there was also heartbreak. You were never told — most likely because there was never reason to — but you were born alongside an identical twin who unfor-"

"What?!" Dick dropped the cookie out of shock and quickly became enraged. "Why wouldn't I be told I have a twin? When my parents died, I thought I was alone in this world! Except for Bruce and you, of course, but I thought I was the last Grayson alive!"

"You were and are, Master Dick. As I was saying, he was stillborn. There were apparent complications with your brother's birth despite yours being a success." Dick retrieved the fallen cookie and rested his chin in his palm, elbow on the countertop for support as he stared into space. "It was truly agonizing for John and Mary, but they instead focused all their love and attention on you. In times of such trauma, Mary in particular couldn't bear the reality of her lost child, very likely due to her post-traumatic stress. So, I imagine they simply decided to move on. There was no use dwelling on an unchangeable truth from the past, so it was buried right alongside your brother."

"So, he's dead too," Dick said despondently.

"Or so we thought." Alfred produced a tablet with the photo Robin had taken with Danny and passed it across the granite countertop.

"Wait…" Dick squinted in confusion as he took the tablet in hand. "You're saying he's alive? And just broke into Mount Justice? But he was confirmed dead..."

"Or was he?"

Dick frowned. "What do you mean?"

"We still don't know exactly what occurred that day. Your brother was taken away moments after birth and declared deceased twenty minutes later. However, when your parents asked to see your brother, there was an odd delay in locating the doctor. There were even rumors of a temporary misplacement of the body. It took a full fifteen minutes to produce his corpse before your parents could say their goodbyes. Positive identification was then secured from multiple witnesses, including the primary doctor. Your mother went into hysterics and struggled with immediate, acute denial that her second son was dead. While that isn't suspicious in and of itself, she claimed that the boy was not her son.

"The rest of the world moved on, however, leaving the deceased James Grayson to be mourned and buried outside Paris. Everyone credited your mother's hysteria to grief, hence the reason she was strongly advised to seek counseling. We have no definite reason to believe that he somehow revived, relocated to America, and was taken to a dirty alley of Gotham only to be reunited with his unknowingly long-lost twin brother; that would be too great of a coincidence."

Coincidence. There that word was again.

"But," Alfred amended, "stranger things happen at sea. Your team is comprised of, among others, a citizen of a mythical city and a native of another planet. Previously, we could and did conclude your mother was merely grieving. One must ask, now, what happened between James Grayson's birth and your mother's mental break."

" 'James Grayson,' " Dick parroted wistfully. "I can't believe it. I sort of understand why my parents never mentioned anything, but why wouldn't you and Bruce tell me if you did all this investigating when I was adopted?"

"You were a nine-year-old boy mourning his parents and adjusting to a new life. It did not feel appropriate to amass the loss of someone who you'd never known on top of your duress when you were already dealing with the deaths of family you knew intimately. It was entirely for your emotional benefit, Master Dick."

"It still feels screwy." Dick hunched over the counter and let the tea's steam warm his face. He was very much like Bruce in that he felt loss deeply. He had never met his twin - James, apparently - but the knowledge that he had had a brother who either died or disappeared tore at his soul. Dick was now even less sure which theory - clone or twin - he wanted to be correct. Did he want Danny to be the result of a conspiracy which could threaten his and Bruce's secret identities, or did he want to struggle with the knowledge he secretly had had living family all along? Amongst the many questions dominating his thoughts, one stood out and could potentially lead to answers:

What happened at Hôtel Dieu?

"This is ludicrous, Alfred!" he suddenly cried out, starting to wallow at being back at square one with no theories standing out among the rest.

Alfred's eyes brightened with a gleam of amusement. "No more *ludicrous* than a billionaire playboy dressing up as a bat and jumping off rooftops every night," he quipped, then looked behind Dick. "Oh, good day, Master Bruce. I didn't see you there."

Dick whipped around to see his guardian standing in full view. "Of course you didn't, Alfred," he snapped back, but the roll of his eyes eliminated any true hostility. He then turned to his ward. "Would you care to explain why Aqualad informed me that Dick Grayson's lookalike broke into Mount Justice?"

"Tucker Foley, at your service!"

Tucker's cocky introduction helped to relieve the mounting tension as they flailed for a direction to go in. He took Danny's phone and removed the SIM card. He then took out his laptop and used an adapter to connect the card to one of the USB ports. "All I have to do," he explained, "is track your SIM card's location history and we can find out where you were, and then we can go from there."

"How does that figure out who I am?" Danny asked.

Tucker paused and thought for a moment before simply grinning. "To be honest…I'm just curious where that secret Justice League base is."

Sam's eyes widened. "Tucker! It's called 'secret' for a reason!"

"Relax, Sam! Like we'd actually tell anybody. Besides, aren't you curious where Danny was today, too?"

Her silence was all the answer he needed. A few moments later, the computer pinged. "Okay, it's only giving me a general area because I'm just going off of cell tower connections, but…oh wow."

"What?" Danny asked.

Tucker looked up from the screen with awe coloring his expression. "They're hiding in plain sight!" He rotated the laptop so Sam and Danny could see the satellite map on it. "Happy Harbor, Rhode Island. And what landmark is in Happy Harbor?"

"Mount Justice!" Sam exclaimed.

"Congrats, Danny. You infiltrated a secret base that's not secret but apparently still is."

"And this helps us how?" Sam asked.

"Well, uh…now we know where to find Robin if we need to talk!" Tucker suggested.

"As if Wayne Manor isn't easy enough to find."

"Hey, his secret identity isn't officially confirmed! Besides, even if he is Robin, he's not going to just admit it. Like, how many people have you told you're Phantom?" Tucker asked Danny.

"I see your point," the frazzled teen conceded. "So what do we do now?"

"We need to get information from your parents," Tucker stated. "They HAVE to know something, right?"

"Great idea," Sam responded sarcastically, "but how do we explain how Danny ended up meeting Robin face-to-face? Or why he even randomly started thinking about Dick Grayson? Besides, you can't just walk up to them and say, 'Hey, Mom and Dad, are you sure I'm actually your son?' "

"But that's a good point," Danny added. "Did they just not tell me I'm adopted, or do they even know?" He gasped. "What if I have to do a DNA test?! We haven't done that since the accident, and who knows how it actually affected my DNA! Oh, no no no no no…"

"Keep your cool, Danny, we'll figure this out as we go," Sam assured. Danny nodded and tried to breath deeply. "Maybe talk to Jazz first and see what she knows? She does tend to know *everything.*"

"Maybe Jazz can help with the Fenton side, but how do we find out more about Richard Grayson?" Tucker asked rhetorically.

The trio thought for a moment before Sam's phone buzzed. She glanced at the alert: a text from her mother. She started with surprise at the notification's preview and quickly opened it. A smile spread, one so uncharacteristically sweet it was almost sinister, and she caught Danny's eye. "Hey Danny, do you want to go to the ball with me?"

"Ball?" Danny asked in confusion.

"Fortunately, the hostess was all too happy to include us on the guest list. The way that woman acted on the phone with me," Bruce added somewhat drily as he put away his cell phone, "I think I could ask for the entire population of Arkham to come and she'd say yes."

Dick smirked despite everything, having encountered that type of person all too many times during their extensive history of social engagements. He took another bite of shortbread.

"This will be the perfect cover for us to be in Amity Park to investigate this 'Danny Fenton,' " his mentor continued. "With any luck, he may even be at the Manson family's fundraiser itself."

"Wait, did you say Manson?" Dick asked. His guardian nodded. "I found hints of a close friendship with their daughter, Samantha. So, his attendance as her date is possible."

"Excellent. We will go to Amity and find out everything we can. The ball will give you an opportunity to befriend him and determine his motivations and just how much he knows. Additionally, the League has recently taken interest in the city of Amity Park itself due to an increase of supernatural activity as well as the presence of an alleged superhero. We will therefore be killing two birds with one stone."

"Danny did say something about ghosts," Dick conceded. "But in the meantime, Artemis and Aqualad were both there and saw Danny. I'm sure the rest of the team knows by now as well. What do we do about them and the League?"

"We are investigating a glitch in zeta-beam security protocols to determine how a civilian was able to travel using a team member's credentials. The boy will be investigated to rule out malicious intent. Nobody else needs to know the real reason."

"What about KF? He was there too, and we all know Wally explodes when he's curious."

"Actually, he may prove to be a valuable asset. I'll speak with Pamela Manson and try to get him added to the guest list under the guise of accompanying you to fend off inevitable boredom."

"So you're saying to come as your date to your parents' soirée next week?"

"Yeah," Sam confirmed. "Mom wouldn't shut up about the guest list at dinner yesterday. And you'll never guess who she just now got an RSVP from," she added with a knowing smirk and began to read out her text. " 'I just got a phone call from THE Bruce Wayne himself saying he and his ward are coming to the ball next week! I can't wait to introduce you to Richard, he's such a nice boy, so handsome and connected, and I know how much you like black-hai-' uuuuhhhh-" Sam caught herself, "the rest isn't important." She quickly put away her phone before they could get a glimpse of the rest of the text. "The point is, Dick Grayson is coming to Amity Park for the ball."

Fortunately for her, Tucker chose to overlook the unfinished final sentence. "This is perfect! We can get close enough to buddy up to him and try to weasel out some truth! We'll be like secret agents!" Tucker said excitedly.

"Except for me," Danny added. "If he is who we think he is, Dick will see me coming from a mile away. And what if people start asking questions when the two of us are in the same room?"

"Those stupid events are never well-lit," Sam replied. "Besides, someone that high-profile will probably take up everyone's attention."

"So, what, I just stroll up to him and say, 'Hey, super rich person I've never met before, lose any twin brothers recently?' Yeah, right," Danny drawled.

"Don't be stupid," Sam snapped. "Of course we'll have to be more subtle and play it by ear. It has to seem like a total coincidence that you're both there."

"What's the ball for, anyway?" Tucker asked.

"Post-superhero-battle relief and relocation funds."

"Considering who'll be there, I'd say that's pretty fitting." Tucker smirked at Danny who glared in response before returning his attention to Sam.

"I don't know, this just feels like a little...much?" Danny said. "Why can't we just message him on social media or something?"

Sam scoffed. "Please, this isn't the sort of thing you can text about. No, you need to be face-to-face. Besides, Richard Grayson has 10.3 million followers on Instagram alone. Do you really think he's going to notice one direct message in the sea of wedding proposals he probably gets from adoring fans?"

"How do you know he has 10.3 million followers precisely?" Tucker asked suspiciously.

Sam tried not to look as if she'd been caught. "I dunno, I just do."

"I thought you hate social media?"

"I do, it's shallow and fake!" she insisted.

"So how do you know the exact number of followers he has on Instagram?" Tucker prodded.

"Look…" Sam splayed her hands flat on the table and tried to compose herself with pride under the teasing which would inevitably follow her coming admission. "Just because I hate social media doesn't mean I'm not on it at all…"

A knowing smile crept onto Tucker's face. He leaned in close. "You follow Richard Grayson, don't you?"

"I THINK HE'S HOT, OKAY?"

Danny jolted at her outburst, as did a few people at neighboring tables.

Tucker's smile grew large, smug and shit-eating. "Didn't we just agree that he looks exactly like Danny?"

Danny reddened and Sam paled. She roughly grabbed the collar of Tucker's ever-present turtleneck and pulled him so they were nose to nose. "If you utter one more word, I will end your miserable existence in the most humiliating and painful way I can imagine," she growled in a tone she hoped was low enough to prevent Danny from hearing her.

Tucker chuckled nervously and pried Sam's fingers off his collar. "Aaaaaanyway, so it's been decided we're all going to the ball, yeah?"

"Who said you were coming?" Sam huffed and crossed her arms.

"As if I'd miss this. Besides, every spy team needs a tech guy on scene."

"Fine." She turned to Danny and softened. "There, you see? We have an opportunity and the start of a plan of attack, which is more than we usually work with. So don't worry too much until we know more. Okay?"

"I'll try not to," he muttered. But as Sam and Tucker watched him curl in on himself and stare down blankly at the table in front of him, they knew that advice would be impossible to follow.

As soon as Danny got home, he heard noise coming from the kitchen and found his mother - or just…Maddie, perhaps? - working absentmindedly on a batch of fudge. She looked up when she noticed him hovering in the door.

"Hi, sweetie!" she greeted with her typical enthusiasm.

"H-hey."

He had managed to keep himself in check for the entire walk home, but Danny froze as his thoughts and emotions overtook him. The way Maddie stood there smiling as she stirred ingredients and joyfully sashayed her way around the room. The way she moved, the way she talked, the way she looked: Danny tried to look for any proof he was wrong about not being related. Everything she did suddenly seemed foreign and suspicious.

People had always commented on how he had his mother's smile or nose, but he wondered, do people ever actually mean that when they say it? Is it something that they mention to reassure the parent, or is it just a passing comment to fill the conversation? After all, all babies look alike, and all people have teeth, so of course their smiles would look alike regardless of whether they're related or not.

Danny's thoughts quickly spiraled as he started to think that he looks nothing like his mother, that his entire life may be a lie and what if he was adopted or what if they don't even know and there could be a conspiracy against him so what if he is a clone of somebody else and doesn't even know it but then again his memories could be programmed but that would mean his whole family and Sam and Tucker were behind it too but why would someone want to clone Richard Grayson but then again if he IS Robin-

"Earth to Danny!" Maddie said loudly as she waved a hand in Danny's face.

Danny backpedaled slightly when he realized Maddie was suddenly in front of him and not across the room preparing fudge. His piercing gaze had been following her around the room as she probably made conversation, but it was obvious he hadn't actually listened.

"Oh, uh, sorry…what did you say?"

His mother frowned. "I've been talking to you for almost five minutes. Are you really saying you didn't hear any of that?" she asked. "Are you feeling alright, honey? You don't look so good."

"What do you mean?" Danny gulped with difficulty, but he could feel the clamminess of his skin. He wouldn't be surprised if he'd gone completely pale either since he felt slightly faint. Danny brushed some sweat from his forehead and took a couple deep breaths. "Um, yeah, M-Mom, I'm fine, just tired," he finally stuttered out. "Busy morning," he added as an afterthought, but his mother didn't miss the way he was beginning to sway on his feet.

"Go lie down. I'll bring up some soup," Maddie instructed. She watched him fumble halfway up the stairs, pausing in front of the mirror hanging on the wall at the landing. He glanced sidelong at it first before turning fully towards it and scrutinizing his reflection, even pulling downward on the skin of his cheek to peer into his eyes.

"Is your reflection not staring back?"

He jolted and smiled sheepishly before continuing up the stairs. Maddie shook her head and went back to prepare the promised soup.

Soon, she was making her way upstairs with a tray holding a bowl of chicken noodle and large glass of water. When she reached Danny's door, it was still open with him standing motionlessly just inside. She followed his gaze to their family portrait sitting on the shelf above his desk.

"Danny?"

"GAAAHHHHH!" He jumped so violently that it startled his mother into tossing the tray of food upwards. Maddie instinctively rushed to grab the glass as it was the closest to her. When it was safely in her grasp with minimal water spilled, she looked to see how much of a mess the soup had made. However, all she saw was her son crouched down with all his weight on one leg, the other sticking straight out to balance him on the balls of his toes. In his hands was the miraculously unspilled bowl of soup.

"Great reflexes, Danny! Looks like you really are my son after all!" Maddie joked as they both set the dishes down on his desk.

"But what if I'm not?" Danny mumbled.

Maddie frowned. "What?"

Danny gulped and did his best to wipe the doubt from his face. "What?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Props to everyone who spotted the BBC Sherlock reference! I refuse to believe the household of the world's greatest detective doesn't watch it. If you haven't, please do ASAP.


	3. Suspicions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm perhaps not quite as proud of this chapter as the others, but there is so much that needs to go down leading up to the anticipated ball. So this isn't quite as fast-paced or data/info-heavy, but we start to see how the unknown is affecting all the parties involved.

When Jack descended into the lab the following Monday with two coffee mugs, he found Maddie sitting still at the computer with her fingers hovering over the keys mid-sentence. This wasn't the first time he'd seen his wife spacing out. It was something she only did when deeply troubled; otherwise, her years of martial arts training kept her focused on the present. But this week, the middle ground seemed to be her constant focus.

"Mads?"

She snapped out of her stupor and made eye contact with Jack, taking just a few seconds too long to smile in greeting. "Hi, Jack."

He set her coffee cup down on the worktop when she made no move to take it. "Are you feeling alright? You've been off since Saturday." He strode over to a workbench where a project lay unfinished and took a sip as he looked over the parts.

Maddie hesitated. She eyed the 'World's Best Mom' coffee mug as it sat perched precariously on the edge of the desk. "It- it's probably nothing," she conceded and shook her head. "Just something Danny said when he came home from lunch."

"What did he do this time?" Jack drawled, ready to hear the latest trouble with their increasingly troublesome son.

"Nothing like that. I'm probably overreacting," she denied again, mostly for her own benefit. She scooted the mug back from the edge so it was safe from falling. "He came home in a daze and didn't look well, so I sent him up to his room and brought some soup. And then he spoke as if he thought I might not be his mom…" She tried to smile it away to try and lessen her worry and keep Jack from reacting, but the attempt failed.

"What? Why would Danny say something like that?" Jack huffed and crossed his arms, glaring upwards in the direction of where Danny's bedroom would be.

"I don't know. For the life of me, I can't figure it out, and he keeps denying anything's wrong. But something's up. He even took some toast with breakfast this morning!"

"He hates toast!"

"Exactly!" Maddie affirmed, glad she now wasn't alone in her perception of how off Danny had been. It was almost as if he'd been running on autopilot since that afternoon. "But of course I'm his mother, and of course he knows that. I remember taking him home from Hôtel Dieu…" Her mind wandered back to that fateful day sightseeing at Nôtre Dame.

…' _Il n'respire pas…' (He's not breathing…)_

…' _C'est pas un pouls?…C'est- Docteur, c'est pas un pouls!'… (There isn't a pulse? There's- Doctor, there's no pulse!)_

…' _Infermiere! Allez allez allez! Maintenant!'… (Nurse! Go go go! Now!)_

Jack smiled at the memory. "Ah, that ended up being quite the vacation, didn't it? Who would have known a transatlantic cruise would send you into labor a month early?"

Maddie slightly hunched in on herself. "It certainly was a close call…"

'… _Docteur, le bébé est mort…' (Doctor, the baby is dead…)_

' _PAS ENCORE!'… (NOT YET!)_

'… _Quoi? Il- il respire! C'est un miracle! DOCTEUR, LE BÉBÉ RESPIRE! APPELEZ LES FENTON!'… (What?! He- he's breathing! It's a miracle! DOCTOR, THE BABY'S BREATHING! CALL THE FENTONS!)_

"But our boy pulled through in the end! Ha-haaaa, what a _Fenton!_ " Jack exclaimed proudly, snapping Maddie back to the present from the day which sent her to therapy for two months upon her return to America. She had barely survived the near loss of her son. Her beautiful, violet-eyed son.

Suddenly she hesitated.

' _...V- violet? His eyes are blue…since when are his eyes violet in that memory?'_

Maddie's eyes flicked back to the computer screen. Her attention focused on a single folder on the desktop which had been moved there for biometrics updating.

' _DNA SAMPLE ARCHIVES'_

A single finger twitched towards the mouse, but she redirected her hand to forcefully grab the 'World's Best Mom' mug instead and hold it protectively against her chest. All her doubts would settle with a mere glance at the files; she could tell instantly whether Danny was biologically theirs or not…

' _You're overreacting, Madeline Fenton. The therapist explained the inconsistencies that day were merely results of the stress. You're IMAGINING things, all because your teenage son is dealing with teenage angst. Pull yourself together.'_

Her index finger and thumb both twitched this time.

* * *

If anyone had been loitering in the Fentons' upstairs hallway, two floors above where Maddie and Jack toiled, they would have noticed the almost comically stressful debate raging in Danny's mind. His bedroom door sat open, leaving an uninterrupted view of his sister's closed door across the hall. Danny gyrated between one of three positions: seated on his desk chair, chin in his palms and elbows on his knees as he stared intently at her door; hovering anxiously just inside the threshold to his own room, hands wringing together as he tried to build up the nerve to speak to her; and frozen in the hallway, fist frozen millimeters short of knocking on the door when he had built up and instantly lost the courage.

It had been twenty minutes before he realized how foolish he was acting. Pacing and staring at Jazz's door didn't help find any answers. He was the town's protector, for goodness' sake, and he damn well couldn't let fear and apprehension keep him from talking to his sister.

'Darn well,' he mentally corrected after remembering his mother's habitual correction of his language.

Danny pushed out of his desk chair, that having been his most recent position, and strode confidently across the hall. He dramatically drew back his fist to knock and hoped the large, exaggerated movements would keep him from freezing again.

"OOOOWWWW! WHAT THE HECK, DANNY?!"

Danny pulled back immediately and slapped his hands over his gaping mouth. Of _course_ she had chosen that exact moment to open her bedroom door.

"Oh my gosh I'm so sorry!" he blurted out. Danny rushed forward and grabbed her upper arms to support her as she massaged her nose. "I was just about to knock and then you were just suddenly there so I accidentally hit you I _SWEAR_ and-"

"Zip it," Jazz quipped. "What do you want anyway?"

"I- uhhh…" Danny's grip on her arms loosened as he faltered. "I was hoping to talk to you about something?"

Perhaps it was his facial expression, remorse for punching her suddenly replaced by anxiety and concern. Perhaps it was the smallness of his posture. Or, perhaps it was the way his meek voice wavered. Whatever it was, he was clearly troubled.

"Sure, Danny. Go ahead and sit down. I'm just going to go grab some hummus. Want anything?"

"No, I- I'm…good."

"Okay. I'll be right back." Her tone was loving and reassuring. She smiled and went downstairs.

Danny was rarely left to his own devices in Jazz's room. The suffocating pink seemed particularly discouraging to any desire of his to invade her private space. So he took the opportunity to glance around and noticed the careful positioning of Bearburt on her bed as well as the cork board of photos next to her desk. He found himself drawn to them, looking at past memories they'd shared. Danny eventually sat down on her bed and positioned the stuffed bear facing him on his thighs, a thumb absently twiddling with its ear. It was comforting to hold something from their childhood, a guarantee that something was real, that he wasn't being tricked with false memories programmed into him.

Or was he? Maybe such a noticeable sentimental item was included as part of the charade. Maybe Bearburt Einstein was planted in the 'Fenton' household, if that was even their real name-

"If I find another fart machine in Bearburt, I _will_ dismember you."

"Don't worry, he's safe. I know you couldn't *bear* it if anything happened to him."

Jazz groaned as she set a plate of food down. "Danny, you're not fighting a ghost right now. You're not allowed to pun."

Danny smiled sadly before returning his attention to Jazz. "I need to ask you something which may seem really random, but hear me out, okay?"

Jazz nodded.

"Am I adopted?"

The redhead wasn't sure what exactly she had expected to be on his mind, but it certainly wasn't… _that_. Adopted? She looked at his despondent expression and immediately gave in to sympathy and concern. "Oh, Danny, I know Mom and Dad can seem strange sometimes and are often embarrassing. Heck, even *I* have occasionally wished I were adopted. But we just have to love and appreciate them for who they are and-"

"What? No, Jazz, that's not-" Danny huffed. "That's not why I'm asking."

"It's not? Then why? You're not adopted, Danny. You've been in this family since the day you were born."

"But that's the thing: _was_ I?"

Jazz, somewhere between frustrated and confused by this point, sat down heavily in her desk chair. "Explain."

And he did. He told her all about everything that happened last Saturday and what little he, Sam and Tucker knew. He told her all about the zeta-beam thinking he were Robin and the team of protégés thinking he were Dick Grayson. And he told her what it was like to realize he had met…*himself,* stared *himself* in the face, to realize he was biologically identical to the superhero and physically identical to the socialite. By the time he got to where they sat currently, Jazz was beyond stunned.

"I…I don't know what to say, Danny. You look like a Fenton, at least. And Mom and Dad have always talked about the day you were born and were dead for a few minutes before you miraculously recovered. But then again, I was only two so I can't confirm it actually happened…"

"But, you would have noticed if I were different, right? Maybe at some point I got switched out for the _real_ Danny Fenton and we just happened to look so similar that nobody outside the family would notice… OH MY GOD you don't think Mom and Dad are in on it, do you?! That I was just an experiment of theirs from the beginning? Are- are _you_ in on it?" he finished in a whisper.

"What?! No, Danny, _calm down_ , you are the same brother I've always had, okay? Chill out. I would have noticed. You're sounding like a conspiracy theorist."

"They're only theories until they're proven to be real conspiracies, Jazz."

"Oh no, not the Roswell thing again," Jazz muttered as a hand pinched the bridge of her nose.

"It was the most blatant cover-up ever, Jazz! Come on," Danny insisted.

"An alien crash-landing and you being a clone are equal amounts of crazy," Jazz said. "Well clearly Mom and Dad are the only ones that can help. We have to ask them."

"No!"

"Why not?!"

"Think about it! How am I going to explain to them that I'm identical to Robin and Dick Grayson without telling them _just how_ I found out?"

Jazz visibly deflated. "Oh."

"Yeah. 'Oh.' " He sighed. "Look, we have to keep this between us and Sam and Tucker until we know more, alright? So just play it cool around them for now."

"I can be cool. Coooool as a cucumberrrr…." Jazz drawled confidently and tried to appear 'cool.'

"You're already the least cool person I know, but you managed to drop down a ranking anyway."

"Oh shut up, you nerd. I can be nonchalant when I want to be."

"No, Jazz, you are the definition of 'chalant.' "

The two siblings glared intensely at each other before breaking into simultaneous, endearing smiles.

"Why didn't you talk to me sooner?" Jazz asked after a short silence.

"I wasn't sure whether I could trust you," he admitted.

"What changed your mind?"

"I don't know. I don't even know if it has changed, but I feel like I'm running out of people to trust. And, well…nobody could fake being that snobby all the time. You can't _possibly_ be pretending," he finished with a teasing grin. Jazz merely huffed but couldn't help a small smile.

* * *

A plethora of empty warehouses occupied the wrong side of the tracks in Elmerton, Ohio, just across the river from Amity Park. The furthest structure from the town — an abandoned Wayne Tech storage depot — was well-avoided, thanks to its rumored haunting. In all honesty, it was haunted in a way, albeit by beings far less mysterious than the supernatural.

"I appreciate that you're making an appearance, Clark," Batman grumbled in his usual tone. Intrepid reporter Clark Kent, currently dressed as his superpowered alter ego, had just finished a short flight around Amity. Now any sightings of Batman and Robin would more likely be associated with him and League activity rather than the very public arrival of Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson later that week.

"Of course, Batman. It was nice to get out of Metropolis for a day." Superman glanced over his friend's shoulder and observed Robin typing furiously at a workstation. "How's he taking this?"

"As well as can be expected," Batman replied. "The sudden appearance of a genetic duplicate is bound to be troubling."

"I can relate," Clark agreed bitterly with a grimace. "The knowledge that someone else is walking the earth with your own face, your own biology…it unsettles you to your very core."

Batman watched as the Kryptonian lost himself in thought. He stifled a sigh and said, "Apart from the first months, you have handled the situation well. Superboy is now blossoming as a member of the team. And though your behavior towards the boy was questionable, I will freely admit that no one can be expected to adjust to the idea immediately."

Clark grimaced. Lord knows it had been difficult to accept Connor's existence. But in the end, the two Kryptonians were both very stubborn and that eventually meant they were determined to make it work.

"But Robin is familial," Batman continued in his colleague's silence. "He has a strong need for family and will stop at nothing to make it work as long as Danny proves to be innocent, whatever his origins may be. The question remains what Danny will want, once the truth is uncovered. Hopefully we can analyze a DNA sample before the charity event this Friday so we are better prepared."

"Well, if everything about the mystery kid you told me is true, I have a feeling he's going to have an anxiety attack. That will be fun," he added sarcastically, "especially if he's the local hero just as you suspect."

"Indeed. Daniel Fenton is a wild card which must be played strategically. Very strategically."

* * *

"Mr. Fenton, may I ask what exactly you're doing?"

Danny twitched violently at the sound of Mr. Lancer's voice and nearly lost his balance due the backpack he was still wearing. From his position cowering behind the bookshelves below the window, he looked between the man in the doorway and the lawn outside where students were still milling around after classes let out. He did his best to hide the look of sheer horror on his face, though his teacher still noticed. "N-nothing, Mr. Lancer. I thought I saw a- uh…a ghost, b-but I was wrong. Heheheh…" He stood slowly and brushed off the knees of his jeans. "I guess I'll just be going then! Don't want to leave Sam and Tucker waiting too long."

' _If only that courtesy would extend to my lessons,'_ Lancer drawled mentally. The seasoned instructor had never seen a less-innocent innocent smile in all his years of teaching. He only frowned and gave a small nod before Danny left.

Outside, Danny rejoined his friends. "There you are!" Tucker greeted.

"I don't think I've ever seen you run so fast, Danny. You should join track," Sam joked. Then, she noticed the addition of an oversized black hoodie to his clothing. "Hey, did you break into my locker and steal my emergency hoodie?!"

"It was an emergency." Danny made sure the hood was fully covering his head. "Well, my life is over. The Justice League is after me."

"You don't know that," Sam said.

"Sam! Mother-freaking _Superman_ was just flying around Amity Park!" he groaned through clenched teeth. He looked around suspiciously. "Why the heck else would he suddenly make an appearance in our stupid little town a couple days after I accidentally broke into Mount Justice?!"

"Maybe the League finally noticed all the ghost attacks? I don't know! But stop panicking and jumping to conclusions!"

"Given everything, I think I'm allowed to panic at least a little! What if they find out who I am?"

"Well, then you'll know what actually happened!" Tucker interjected.

Danny wheeled on him. "No, who _else_ I am, genius. Danny Phantom? Hated protector of Amity Park? Ring any bells?"

"Oh."

"Yeah. 'Oh.' "

"Look, all you have to do is play it cool for a few days," Sam reasoned. "Lay low, don't draw attention to yourself in either form. Just-" She shuddered at her next words, given that they were against everything she stood for as an opinionated Goth animal rights activist. "Just… _blend in._ "

Danny snickered when she actually gagged after saying so. "I'll do my best to be everything you hate," he replied with a smile.

"Ugh, get a room already. Ow!" Tucker hopped on one foot while clutching the other.

* * *

"How many variants of the simple word 'no' must I use to get this through to you? I told you, I'm out." The infuriated man sighed deeply as he listened to the other person speak. He shifted the receiver against his face while hunching over the desk and pinching the bridge of his nose.

"The scandal, the mere continued association would threaten the stability of DALV Co," he continued. The mayor of Amity Park whirled around in his chair to stare out the window. The electrochromic glass had darkened when his office's soundproofing systems engaged.

"You are fully aware of the success in my own efforts, just as I am aware of yours. Or should I say 'the lack thereof' on both accounts? I'm struggling to understand, then, why you cannot grasp the concept of permanently terminating my participation in your think tank's endeavors. The test subjects and subsequent attempts at replication were all catastrophic failures."

Vlad scowled. "An ongoing partnership has proved disastrous for us. Both of our projects have yet to succeed despite both of us doing legwork personally. It has been two years, my old *friend.* Clones simply aren't viable weapons, each with a mind of their own." His mind swam in a sea of black-haired, blue-eyed teens. "Our time working together has come to an end."

Vlad listened then stood from his chair, stretching the phone's cord to its limits.

"Then I shall happily spend the rest of my days in the 'darkness,' as you say. I already own the shadows. Good day." The mayoral office automatically reset itself to normal as soon as the receiver slammed down.

* * *

It was, admittedly, the complete opposite of what Sam had advised. But in his defense, Danny would have soon started a fire from the friction underfoot as he rapidly paced in his room. So a quick, invisible flight as his alter ego to clear his head seemed like a worthy concession.

After all, who could he possibly expect to run into above the rooftops of his neighborhood?

"Ow! What the heck?!"

Danny and another figure, seemingly a boy his age who was undoubtedly the source of the cry, went tumbling to the gravel on the roof. Phantom instinctually wrapped his arms around the person and stopped him from hitting the pavement too hard. He stayed invisible and tried to remain silent but couldn't help but grunt softly as he rolled away. Upon seeing who it was he'd crashed into, Phantom felt like he should be surprised, but he couldn't bring himself to be.

"Oh, man, that's gonna smart," Robin moaned as he hurriedly got to his feet. He glanced around in a defensive position, surprised when no one else was there. "Hello?"

Phantom bit his lip.

"Look, I know _someone's_ there. I've heard of having the wind knocked out of you, but the wind knocking you out? That's a new one."

Phantom bit his lip harder to prevent himself from snorting.

When there was still no reply, Robin reached up to his mask and brushed a finger along its right frame. The white lenses turned a vibrant red and his gaze instantly locked on Phantom. "Aha! Found you," Robin said with a smirk. "Hello, _*Inviso-Bill.*_ "

Danny glared and turned visible. "It's 'Phantom,' you little troll."

Robin disabled his infrared vision. " _Danny_ Phantom, right?"

"If you like," he answered shortly, crossing his arms. "What are you doing in my town?"

"Hey, that's no way to greet a fellow hero!" Robin reprimanded lightheartedly.

Phantom's eyebrow quirked up.

"Just taking care of some business, is all."

"What _sort_ of business?" the local prodded.

"Can you keep a secret?" Robin stage whispered and leaned in. Danny nodded and leaned in as well. "…So can I." Robin laughed.

"But you're on my turf. Isn't that breaking the golden rule of hero-ing?"

"Nah, the golden rule is to never reveal another hero's secret identity. Respecting each other's turf is more like the *silver* or *bronze* rule of hero-ing. Plus, you don't exactly have a phone number, do you?"

"Guess not," Phantom agreed bitterly, "but people don't tend to want to talk to me. They're more fond of disintegration."

"Seriously?" Robin sobered slightly when the local hero nodded. "Why would they do that? You help the town, right?"

"My track record isn't as clean as I would like," Phantom admitted. "Besides, most of them can't seem to get past…what I am." He gestured down at his glowing self.

"Why, what are you?"

"Because I'm dead? I'm…I'm a ghost?"

"Oh. Sweet."

 _That_ took Phantom by surprise and disarmed him completely. " 'Sweet?' That's… _it?_ Most outsiders don't typically take it this well. Or even believe me."

Robin shrugged. "Not the first time I've heard about ghosts. A couple of my *super-friends* met one a couple Halloweens ago. At least you can say more than just the word 'secret.' "

"O…kay?" Phantom failed to comprehend what Robin could mean. "Look, why are you really here?"

"Well, I'm…looking into somebody. Maybe you could help me out?"

"Really? Who?" Phantom asked. "I know pretty much everybody."

"What can you tell me about this kid?" Robin typed something into his PDA and pulled up a holographic image of Danny Fenton. He held up his arm such that Phantom's face perfectly aligned, as did Robin's from Phantom's perspective.

It took a moment before Phantom could regain his cool. "The Fenton kid? He's a nobody, bottom of the food chain. He doesn't so much cause ripples as drown in the waves. What could you possibly want with him?"

"Let's just say he got in somewhere he shouldn't and I want to make sure nothing sinister's at play."

" 'Sinister?' This is a small town in Ohio; how could anything sinister _possibly_ -" His train of thought ran straight to the mayor. "Okay, maybe it could be. But I can guarantee that the Fenton kid is innocent. He's just trying to get on with his life."

"Interesting. So why does he defy his parents' aspirations by being your ally?"

"My- my _what?!"_

"C'mon, dude, it's no secret you use Fenton tech. I highly doubt it's the parents supplying you since they're trying to hunt you down, after all. And the sister? Not likely."

Phantom scowled. "I'm sure you can understand that the hero gig is difficult to do alone. Everyone needs an ally, and _maybe_ Danny Fenton doesn't agree with his parents' views and wants to keep me alive. The town gets extra protection; everybody wins."

"Alive, huh?"

"Y-… You know what I mean. After-alive, I guess."

"Yeah. I also know what it's like to protect a secret identity," he added.

"But- but I'm _dead_ , I don't _have_ a secret identity," Phantom insisted.

"Really?" Robin pulled up a live feed of stats on his display and smirked. "Tell that to your vitals."

' _Whatever happened to the golden rule of heroism?'_ Phantom thought to himself. Before he had a chance to reply, though, he sensed a change in air pressure. "Get down!" he shouted and tackled Robin to the floor once again. An ectoblast rocketed past milliseconds later. Phantom leapt off Robin and took to the air. "Crap. Gotta go. Remember: you can leave Fenton alone! He's nobody special!"

And Phantom was gone. Robin stood and brushed off his suit. Seconds later, he was no longer alone, now graced by the hovering presence of another noteworthy figure in Amity Park. "What was that for, Huntress?"

"You _know_ me?!" her strained voice cried from behind her own mask. "Wait…you…you're-"

"Yes, I am. Nice to meet you. Though I could have gone without the murder attempt…"

"Oh my gosh!" She hopped off her board onto the gravel of the roof. "I'm so sorry, Mr. Robin, sir, I didn't mean- I mean you're just so _cool_ and I wasn't aiming for- It was just that Phantom was-"

"Was what? Existing?" he interrupted cynically, far too preoccupied to deal with another apparent fangirl. "Seemed nice enough to me."

"Oh, yeah, he's all smiles for the public, but I _know him_ ," the Huntress said, her demeanor turning dark and bitter. "He's an evil, two-faced, undead jerk that deserves oblivion. It's because of him that my life was ruined and I took on the role of Red Huntress to take him down." Her fist clenched in determination as she jumped back onto her waiting jet sled. "Stay away from him if you know what's good for you. Or better yet: send him to Belle Reve!"

And with that, Robin was alone yet again, even more stupefied than he'd been before. The specter protector of Amity Park had a pulse. He was also too quick to discount Danny Fenton of any suspicion. The world's greatest detective's apprentice was now certain that his clone or twin and the local superhero were one and the same. He couldn't believe the luck and irony of the situation, that both he and Danny wound up as heroes.

Robin spent the remainder of the night sailing between the roofs of Amity Park, observing an occasional glowing being flying overhead. He finished his scouting across the street from the Fenton household and decided to lay in wait until Danny left for school. Imagine his surprise, then, when he saw Danny Phantom chase into the house after Danny Fenton.

"Huh. I guess they're _not_ the same person after all," Robin muttered to himself before making his way back to the base outside Elmerton.

Danny, still in ghost mode, rocketed through the house and found the fake Danny Fenton in his sister's room. The imposter was busy tearing apart Jazz' carefully crafted scrapbook.

'Oh no, not another one!' he thought before attacking his latest doppelgänger.

* * *

Four days had now passed since Danny returned from Mount Justice and Tucker was feeling it. He did his best to remain lighthearted and positive around Danny, but the vastness of the unknown was eating away at him. His childhood friend could be a prisoner somewhere, even dead. And he had to act as if this probable imposter were his best bud?

Besides, Tucker had seen the movies. Too many, most likely, but it meant that in his mind it could be the smallest word, the smallest change in attitude which could trigger him from innocent sleeper agent into rampaging kill bot.

Sleep this past night had been fleeting, hence the reason why Tucker was awake at 5:00 am on a Wednesday. He spun himself lazily in his desk chair, eyes passing over the monitors on his bedroom desktop with every revolution. He had been through many theories with Sam and Danny, some more outlandish than the rest, but Tucker figured it was his duty to his friends to explore even the most unbelievable explanations in order to bring peace to the Fenton household. He stopped spinning, instead focusing on an open search window where the cursor blinked readily.

"Who besides Vlad is loony enough to try human cloning?" he muttered aloud.

He fixed his posture and began typing furiously. Within seconds, multiple news reports took up the screens' pixels, all having to do with a single facility. Tucker couldn't help but grin with newfound clarity and confidence.

' _CADMUS LABS INVESTIGATED BY LEAGUE FOLLOWING DISCOVERY OF CLONING PROJECTS'_

"Gotcha."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you who know enough about French to catch the [purposeful] grammatical errors - or if you're just curious: It is true that 'ne' and 'pas' are needed when you make a verb negative in order for it to be correct. However, in my 4 years of studying French in high school and a week spent living with a Parisian family, one thing I learned was that it is acceptable to drop the 'ne' if you're being casual/informal/lazy...or, in the case of this story, working in a delivery room where a baby's life is at stake.


	4. Suspended Disbelief

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter, Suspended Disbelief, picks up immediately after chapter 3 where Dick and Danny both see *another* Danny Fenton run into his household before school on Thursday morning. I think you'll immediately see where this is going. Also, we get to find out exactly what Conspiracy Theorist Tucker (TM)'s been up to/thinking about since coming across the articles about Cadmus.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some of the dialogue comes directly from the "Forever Phantom" episode.

"Hey, Tucker, you're here early," Sam greeted. She stepped back so Tucker could enter the front door of her family's gothic townhouse.

"Yeah, I wanted to talk to you about something I found this mor-" Tucker yawned "-morning. Sorry."

"Sleep much?" Sam asked and led him upstairs.

"Not at all. All this stuff with Danny has been keeping me awake. And after what I found on-"

"Ssh!" Sam shoved him into her room and shut the door. He flopped down onto the bed. "I don't want my parents to hear. Lord knows they're suspicious enough of my friendship with you and Danny. So, what's up?"

"Well, I had another theory…about Danny. I was doing some research about cloning and I think I found something." He pulled out Casper High's biology textbook. and began rifling through the pages.

"Do you think Danny should be here to hear it?" Sam took out her cell phone and pulled up his contact. "I've been wondering where he is this morning. He's later than usual."

"Actually, I think I want to hash it out with you first before we tell him. It's kinda complicated and moderately disturbing, so I wanted to run it by you first so we don't freak him out."

"Okay, let me see how long the slowpoke will be." She dialed Danny's number and listened to it ring without end. She called again and paced her room. No answer. "I can't get ahold of Danny today. Do you know where he is?"

At that very moment, Danny sailed through her open window in Phantom form and crashed into her desk.

"Danny?!" Sam asked.

"Sorry," he answered hurriedly and stood. "Listen, I just fought a ghost that looks exactly like me, but he can change how he looks! And now I can't change back, or turn invisible or intangible." He produced a slice of Jack Fenton-shaped toast and took a large bite.

"And you're eating toast," Tucker added. "You _hate_ toast! What gives?"

"I can't change back to Danny Fenton! Me and the other Danny — yes, yet another one," he added at Sam's confused look, "were fighting and we ran into my dad's Ecto-Stoppo-Power-ifier, and I think it's taking away our ghost powers."

"Does your dad ever invent anything that doesn't mess you up?" Tucker asked rhetorically.

"Or without a dorky name?" Sam added.

"I can't go home. I can't go to school. I can't even walk around in public without getting mobbed! What am I gonna do?" Danny flailed.

Tucker, ever concerned with food, took the toast from Danny and swallowed a bite. "For starters, get some jam. This is awful dry…"

"Okay, you're stuck as Danny Phantom. It could be worse!" Sam encouraged.

Not a second later, her bedroom wall burst apart revealing the Fenton parents on ropes. Danny quickly dove under her bed.

"Attention adolescents! This is official Fenton business," Jack Fenton proclaimed, pistol drawn. "Have you kids seen Danny?"

"Uuuhhh…Danny who?" Sam and Tucker chorused.

"He was being chased through our house by that awful Danny Phantom, and now we can't find him!" Maddie explained.

"Danny's not missing!" Sam diverted. "We just saw him. Right, _Tucker?_ "

"Yeah!" he continued, catching onto the cover story. "He was, uh, running down the street, away from that jerky Danny Phantom."

"Bingo!" Jack said. "We're on high alert search and rescue mode until we find him. Let's _ROCK!_ " He shot a second gaping hole in the wall, despite there already being one from their entry. "Obey all traffic laws!" he finished before rappelling away.

Maddie sighed. "Send us the bill," she offered defeatedly before following her husband. Danny crawled out from under the bed.

"We'd better figure out how to change you back fast, before more innocent bedroom walls are destroyed," Sam said and frowned.

"That means I have to find that other Danny — or Amorpho, or whatever it is — before it's too late!" Danny said. He floated towards the holes. "I'll go look for him at school. Keep me posted."

"Will do," Sam answered, and he left. She then turned to Tucker. "Your research will have to wait till later. For now," she continued and pulled a black wig from her dresser, "we have some parents to confuse."

* * *

Dick was exhausted by the time he made it back to the warehouse. Leaping across rooftops and being as discreet as possible over such a long distance had tired him; falling and crashing into some mud due to his exhaustion hadn't helped either. So he immediately stripped off his suit for cleaning and got in the shower, pondering the events of the past night.

Red Huntress' hatred, Fenton and Phantom being seen together, Phantom's quick dismissal of Fenton's guilt: it all swirled as a jumbled mess in Dick's mind. A cold wetness on his hand returned him to the present, and he glanced down at the conditioner now overflowing from his cupped palm. He righted the bottle and washed the excess liquid from his hand. _'But then duplication and the existence of ANOTHER clone aren't out of the question. Heck, even shapeshifters like Miss M. are an option. So who is he—er, them?'_

Dick lazily exited the shower after a long, therapeutic steaming. As he walked into his makeshift bedroom towel-drying his hair, he noticed his phone light up with an alert.

Google News: _'Alleged 'Hero' Suspected of Kidnapping Local Ghost Hunters' Son'_

Dick tossed the towel aside and opened the notification. Clearly, setting up an alert for any news featuring the keyword 'Fenton' was paying off. A recording of one of the local reporters, one Tiffany Snow, began playing:

" _Danny Fenton, 16, was reported missing this morning at 7:53 am by parents and local ghost hunting experts, Doctors John "Jack" and Madeline "Maddie" Fenton. Local 'hero' Danny Phantom was reported on-site as an aggressor taking young Fenton into captivity. After a brief altercation causing significant property damage to the household, laboratory and Emergency Operations Center of Fenton Works, both Danny Fenton and Danny Phantom disappeared from the scene. Danny Phantom is wanted for questioning. APPD requests that citizens with any information call…"_

Dick stumbled into a pair of underwear as he ran to where his Robin uniform normally was, only to remember it was in the wash. "Darn it! Of all the days to fall in the mud- HEY BRUCE, WHERE'S MY SPARE SUIT?" he called out and tore apart the multiple storage trunks laying around.

" _It's being washed as well,"_ came a distant reply from across the warehouse. _"Go in civvies; they're less conspicuous in daylight."_

"Good point," Dick muttered, mostly to himself. He pulled on red Converses, jeans and the first t-shirt he came across—a white NASA tee with red hems—and bolted out the door.

The Boy Wonder wasn't quite sure where to begin looking for Danny. His friends and parents would know better than he where Danny might run, but perhaps an outside perspective could lend an advantage. He decided to start at Danny's school and see what leads he might uncover.

As he approached Casper High, Dick heard some tires squealing and glanced over his shoulder as he ran. A massive van drifted around a distant corner and drifted in his direction.

Someone gasped and shouted, "Look out!"

Dick looked ahead just in time to slam into a boy running in the opposite direction. They both tumbled to the ground and sat up on their elbows with a parroted groan.

"Wait...what?" a third person asked. Dick and the second boy looked into the air to see a hovering—and perplexed—Danny Phantom. They then looked at each other and discovered they looked virtually identical apart from Dick's sunglasses. Dick recognized him instantly as the missing Danny Fenton.

"Danny/Billy?" the grounded boys asked each other.

"How many of you—me—us are there?!" Phantom bellowed.

"What do you mean 'us'?!" Dick asked.

"Uuuuhhhh-"

" _Youth of Amity Park!"_ a female voice spoke over a loudspeaker. All three boys looked to see the rapidly approaching Fenton RV pulling a trailer with their faces on it.

"Scatter!" Phantom whisper-shouted and flew away. Danny Fenton jumped behind a telephone pole. Dick barrel-rolled into a run and hid in some nearby bushes.

" _Be on the lookout for Danny Fenton, a.k.a. the cutest, sweetest son in the world,"_ Maddie Fenton's voice declared. _"It is our desire to find him post-haste, so that we may shower him with hugs, and with kisses!"_

" _Uh, yeah, a-and sports! You know…*GUY* stuff,"_ Jack Fenton added.

Dick's attention diverted from the passing van back to Danny Fenton to figure out why he was hiding from his own parents. Strangely, though, Danny was gone, replaced by a heavyset balding man wearing a tie and plaid trousers. Dick followed him into the school since he must have had something to do with Fenton's sudden disappearance.

The teacher seemed to be despised and tormented by the entire student population, and Dick had only had a hallway and a half's trailing on which to judge. He was shocked when the as-yet unnamed teacher dashed around the corner out of sight and exclaimed, "Why don't you watch where you're- _Prince and the Pauper!_ …You're gorgeous!"

Dick couldn't get any closer for fear of being recognized, so he had to hold back while the high schoolers began shouting about "two Mr. Lancer's." At that moment, Danny Phantom appeared and distracted everyone with a pursuit down the halls. Dick took the opportunity to round the corner and see what was going on with the teacher.

But, the corridor was vacant. Broken overhead lights cast the space into darkness. There was no sign of life, so Dick ran out into the streets of Amity to once more try and find either Fenton or Phantom. He only made it a block before colliding with someone sprinting towards the school.

"Ugh! Literally _running into_ people is getting old really fast," he said and helped the person up. "Sorry, dude."

"Thanks," he—she?—replied. They made eye contact and dropped their jaws simultaneously. Both were dressed in identical clothing apart from Dick's sunglasses, and the girl was clearly wearing a black wig with Danny's style. "Danny?! You're back and didn't tell us?"

"Uh, no? No! I- I'm-" Dick had just begun to place her face when he saw the Fentons approaching behind the mystery double's back "-sorry, but I gotta run! Farewell, random citizen!" He somersaulted into an alley and hid.

"What?!"

"Danny! Stop running!" two voices exclaimed. The girl looked over her shoulder and bolted for the school. Dick watched the two overeager parents stampede past the entrance to the alley.

* * *

Sam was heaving for breaths by the time she made it up Casper High's front steps. Once inside, she dodged around two approaching figures and headed towards a girl's bathroom to hide.

"Sam?"

She turned around. One of the figures she'd dodged was none other than Danny, once again in Phantom form, unlike he had been moments ago.

Wait…

"Danny?!"

"Is that my shirt?" he asked in lieu of a greeting.

"No time to explain," she barked. "Just…RUN!"

The Fenton parents burst through the wall, having apparently forgotten the function of a door. "Freeze, Phantom!" the pair ordered with guns drawn.

"Oh no…" Danny moaned as Sam ducked out of sight.

* * *

"Are you finding anything?" Dick asked into his wrist computer.

" _Negative,"_ Bruce answered through the device. _"Neither Phantom nor Fenton are appearing on any hackable camera feeds."_

"Where did they go?!" Dick whined.

" _Hold on… Our satellites are picking up significant energy readings leaving the high school now. Passing your location in 3, 2, 1…"_

Dick looked up just as Phantom and the so-called Mr. Lancer flew overhead in the direction of Fenton Works. He leapt out of the alley and watched them sail into the distance.

"Confirmed. Pursuing target-" He reached for his grappling hook, only to realize he'd left in such a rush he'd forgotten to put on his smaller utility belt. "Damn! Pursuing on foot."

"Danny! Please, just wait!"

He looked over his shoulder and saw the Fentons once again zeroing in on him from a block away. Dick's eyes widened behind his glasses before he sprinted away at top speed.

"Honey, I think he's headed back to the house!" Dick heard Maddie observe. "Look! It's the RV!"

"Maybe you should try out for track and field when this is all over!" Jack Fenton breathlessly called after Dick while fumbling for his keys.

* * *

_[A few moments earlier…]_

"It appears to be the Fentons, sir. Shall I stop the car, or perhaps follow them?"

Vlad looked up from his recently repaired Maserati's backseat display. He glanced out the window and indeed saw the Fenton parents. They appeared breathless and headed in the same direction as Vlad's car. "No, continue on, Walter. I don't have time for them today."

Two blocks further, however, he saw two boys collide with each other next to an alley. The attire caught his eye first; they appeared to be addressed identically. In fact, they _were_ dressed identically and resembled duplicates of each other. One last glance at one of their faces confirmed who it was.

"Two Daniels?" Vlad mused to himself.

"What was that, sir?" Walter asked with one eye on the rearview mirror.

Vlad snapped out of his stupor and glared at his driver and assistant. "Just keep driving." He then rolled his eyes and stared through the panoramic moonroof over the backseat.

Only to see Danny _Phantom_ rocket by overhead with a plump man in tandem.

He groaned in exasperation and reached for the onboard liquor cabinet. "Walter, set up an appointment with L at _*my*_ earliest convenience."

"Right away, sir."

* * *

En route, Dick had to dive behind some bushes when he heard the roar of an approaching vehicle. Sure enough, the Fenton's RV careened past, narrowly missing nearby parked cars. He continued his sprint towards the Fenton household and was still a few blocks away when the Fenton parents handbrake-parked relatively in front of the house—primarily blocking traffic—and dashed up the front steps into the house.

Dick heard a commotion in the kitchen as he finally approached Fenton Works. He darted underneath the kitchen's open window and peaked inside to see what was happening. Sure enough, a pleased Danny Fenton grinned up at a hovering Danny Phantom.

"But how will you know if you do?" Phantom cackled in an odd voice as he density-shifted through the ceiling.

' _If you do what?'_ Dick thought. _'And once again, Fenton and Phantom are in the same place. What were they up to today? I could have SWORN they were the same person!'_

"Danny!" the parents cried and pulled their beaming son into a hug.

"We're so glad to see you!" his mother continued. "How do you feel? Are you okay? How's your face? Oh, cute and pinchable as always…" she cooed and pinched it for good measure while Danny merely smiled innocently.

"So how'd you get rid of that Danny Phantom punk anyway, son?" Jack asked proudly.

"Easy," Danny said. "I just told him that my parents were the fearsome Fentons. He freaked out, used his powers to patch me up, and brought me home. Looks like you guys are pretty famous in the ghost community."

' _That sounds awfully convenient and overtly flattering…'_

"Aw, shucks, pal," Jack replied humbly. "It might seem like sunshine and buttered toast at times, but fame isn't all it's cracked up to be."

"Yeah, I guess there's such a thing as too much attention…" Danny agreed. "Anyway, I'm going to go call Sam and Tuck to catch up on the work I missed today. See ya!" He left the room a bit too cheerfully.

Dick harrumphed and dropped down from the window. _'Odd. I know for a fact that Sam wasn't in class, and something tells me Tucker was running around in Danny's clothes too…'_

His computer manifested an alert from Bruce: _Someone infiltrated Cadmus Labs' database early this morning using a sophisticated VPN of questionable legality. The IP address traces back to the Foley residence in Amity Park. Find out what Tucker Foley knows._

Dick sent a quick reply: _Understood. Running a trace on his whereabouts now._

A few minutes later, Dick oriented towards the public library.

* * *

Sam thanked the powers that be for the advent of indoor plumbing and hot water. The end of a refreshing shower in Casper High's locker room left her searching her P.E. locker for a spare pair of clothes so she could reappear as herself. Sam's phone buzzed just as she unearthed her signature tank top and miniskirt.

Danny Fenton to You & Tucker: _Back to normal! Parents still in the dark but hate Phantom even more. :/ Wanna come study?_

Tucker Foley to You & Danny: _Sweet! :) Nah bro I have some research to do at the library. Tmrw?_

Sam read through the lines and composed a reply.

You to Danny & Tucker: _Mandatory party planning with Mom. Sorry_

Danny Fenton to You & Tucker: _Oh ok_

Then she received a direct message.

Tucker: _You catch my drift?_

Sam: _Be there in 10_

She finished pulling on her combat boots and left. She finally found Tucker huddled over a table in the far corner of the public library. His beret was the wrong way round and pulled far down over his face, and he very obviously glanced around the room every few seconds. Sighing at how conspicuously inconspicuous the hapless techno geek was, Sam trudged over and lazily dropped her backpack to the floor as she sat. "Typical traffic light clothing. Very discreet," she drawled.

"Hey, they're the pan-African colors, okay?" he whined back. "And Danny knows I'm here anyway."

"So what's the deal, Tucker? Why couldn't Danny be here with us?"

"I just- he just-" Tucker shook his head and shrugged. "It's a little hard for me to talk about what happened to the _'real'_ Danny Fenton when he's here. Besides, this one's a little complicated, so I wanted to hash it out with you before we worry him."

"Alright, well, we're alone. So tell me your latest crazy theory. Are aliens involved in this one too?" she asked disinterestedly and sunk down on her chair.

"No. Well…yes, but…no. Hear me out. I think I finally figured out how exactly Danny is a clone." Tucker rotated his laptop for her to see. The internet was open to a research laboratory's site. "What do you know about Cadmus Labs?"

"Cadmus?" She pulled herself upright and looked at the laptop screen. "Weren't they the ones that made Superboy?"

" _Yes_ ," he replied in a tone that suggested this was the answer to everything. He readjusted his posture and elaborated. "Two years ago, a few of the Justice League protégés broke in and found secret cloning experiments deep underground. The lab was temporarily shut down and fully investigated, but it reopened a week later as if nothing had happened—well, except for the ongoing above-ground reconstruction."

"So, what's your point?"

"Sam, they reopened _two months_ before Danny's accident. Two months in which they desperately needed something to save their funding. So you'll never guess who they approached for a research partnership to try and keep themselves from going under: Doctors John and Madeline Fenton of Fenton Works." Tucker switched to a new tab with an article discussing a visit to Amity by the board of directors of such an infamous lab.

Sam looked between the article and Tucker's expectant expression. "So they were in Amity. What does this prove?"

"What's more important is how briefly they were in Amity," Tucker elaborated. "Cadmus came along to help fund the portal's final construction phase. The Fentons flat-out refused to work with such a scandalous think tank and finished the portal alone. Cadmus left with their tails between their legs."

"Again, what does this prove?"

"Think about it. Superboy was supposed to have been created to substitute for Superman if anything ever happened to him. But _what if_ they made him to _replace_ Superman from the get-go? A duplicate they had created and could control. Someone working as their agent. Someone who could _infiltrate for them_ and further their agenda."

"Wait wait wait, so you're saying a multinational corporation with their eyes on _Superman_ replaced small-town _Danny Fenton_ with a clone to infiltrate a small business like Fenton Works?!"

"Yes! The Fentons were on the verge of expanding scientific horizons! If they were successful, Cadmus would gain co-control over access to an entire dimension. If they failed, it would only be a drop in the bucket compared to their other losses."

Sam sighed. She saw the beginnings of a chance that he _might_ have a point. "I'm listening."

Tucker relaxed slightly. He had been very anxious that yet another one of his theories might be shot down instantly. "The Fentons' very public rejection of the partnership was in August, one month before Danny's accident in September. I went through their financial records, and one of their top scientists, Dr. Spence, flew back to Amity for the week of Danny's accident."

"But that- hold on, how did you get their financial records?"

"Let's just say their cyber-security isn't League-level," he replied cockily.

"Ugh," she scoffed, "I don't want to know. But anyway, how does this prove Danny is a clone?"

"The accident!"

"…Huh?"

"Fenton tech malfunctions the day after Spence arrives. Spence leaves the day after the portal turns on. What if she slipped in, sabotaged the portal to distract the parents, then swapped out a fake Danny for ours? Then *Danny* going in and turning it on really _would_ be an accident since it _shouldn't_ have worked, yet somehow it did. Or maybe, she even did it after the accident itself!"

"But how?! We were there, Tucker! I think we'd notice if someone else came in the lab!"

"But we were unconscious for a few minutes too!" he insisted. "The blast from the startup sent Danny flying out of the portal and knocked us unconscious against the cabinets. _What if_ Spence saw that as an opportunity and stole a freshly superpowered Danny for Cadmus' use and then _replicated_ the accident with the clone? It was literally laboratory conditions and a proven success."

"Get real, Tucker. That just sounds risky and far-fetched and _stupid…_ "

"Sam, this is a company which thought cloning a Kryptonian and creating a super-strength formula would be a good idea. Even after all that went down, it's now being run by King of the Creeps Lex Luthor."

"I thought Vlad was King of the *Creeps*?"

"No, he's King of the *Fruit Loops*. But seriously, this whole situation has Project Cadmus written all over it."

"Okay, Mr. Conspiracy Theorist, how does this explain Danny's DNA match to Robin?"

"I think _this_ Danny is actually a clone of _Robin_ and not of Danny Fenton." Sam's eyebrow quirked up. "Look, I asked you to hear me out because this one is the most complicated theory yet."

"Fine, fine," Sam conceded and held her hands up in surrender.

"Here's how it could have gone down: Cadmus somehow grows a clone of Robin as a sort of revenge scheme for the raid on their lab and for ruining their reputation, but they need to plant him somewhere in the world to start working for their agenda since the real one got away. Enter Jack and Maddie Fenton. Cadmus comes to Amity to partner with Fenton Works. Instant public rejection, but they've noticed how physically similar Danny Fenton is to Robin; not quite identical, but close. They somehow download Danny's memories to the clone, and now they have an unknowing agent _inside_ Fenton Works working to get information on their behalf. The Robin clone is now in society, already on its first assignment-"

"His."

Tucker started. "What?"

"* _His_ * first assignment," Sam emphasized, then continued with a glare, "because no matter what Danny is, he isn't an 'it.' "

"Oh." Tucker's cheeks flushed slightly. "Sorry."

"Look, Tucker, I won't say what you're saying doesn't make sense in an _extremely wild,_ complicated way…"

"But you don't believe it," he finished disappointedly and averted his gaze.

"There are _so many_ coincidences involved, so many factors that have to be true including the involvement of mad scientists. I would have to suspend a lot of disbelief to agree with what you're saying."

"We live in a world of suspended disbelief, Sam!" he snapped. "Superman doesn't even wear a mask yet his civilian identity is completely safe! Our friend is both alive and dead, no matter _who_ he is! And most of all, Danny _somehow_ has perfectly identical DNA to Robin since he was able to use the zeta-beam."

"Alright, alright, geez! Gimme a break, Tucker, this is a lot to take in," she growled back defensively. "But don't you think we would have noticed if Danny suddenly didn't look exactly like Danny anymore?"

"Well, something as simple as a haircut can make someone look completely different, yet we still register them as the person we know, and that's a super obvious difference. Danny was glowing with white hair and green eyes after the portal turned on, and we still recognized him; when he turned back to normal, he looked more like the Danny we know than he did in ghost form, so we would just accept it. We would hardly notice if something in his face changed — and his parents are way too oblivious these days and nobody else in town pays enough attention to care. Besides, don't you think his face has looked a little more *heroic* since the accident?"

"Her-" A few books fell over nearby, causing Sam to pause. She leaned in, one eyebrow twitching upwards in skepticism. "Heroic?"

"Yeah, heroic. You know, stronger jawline, more pronounced cheekbones, majestic hair?" he explained with gestures around his own head. Sam rolled her eyes. "Slightly leaner too, and his voice was just a bit…weird. We just cracked it up to puberty and the workouts he was suddenly getting every day, and the confidence he was gaining as a hero. But I ask: What if? What if all those tiny little tweaks add up to him being someone else?"

"What if…" Sam repeated thoughtfully.

"And my final argument: Danny used to think logically and have common sense. Then one day he _randomly_ agrees to messing around with his parents' extremely dangerous invention despite knowing how dangerous _literally everything the Fenton parents touch_ is? I think it could be a programming fault in the clone. They didn't give him enough common sense.

"So, to recap: desperate, demented scientists; timing of their visits to Amity; coinciding change in behavior and physical appearance; and lab accident."

Sam sighed. His conspiracy theories were often convoluted and a bit of—or a massive—stretch. But this one, despite how much she might need to suspend her disbelief… "Tucker, I don't often agree with you—almost never, really—but this seems like a valid possibility."

"Finally we're getting somewhere!" Tucker proclaimed as he sighed in relief.

"That doesn't mean it's what happened! He could still just be a twin with a super super super super SUPER unlikely exact genetic match to his brother…"

"Come on, Sam, that's almost impossible with naturally biology. With science though…"

"Alright, alright, I'll keep my mind open. So what do we do about Danny?"

"This one, or the original?"

"Well…both? We still don't even know if there _are_ two."

"Game plan: treat this one normally so he hopefully doesn't go all kill-bot on us-"

"He could be a _clone_ , not an _android_ , genius."

"-and start looking into where the original might be."

"Then what do we do about this Danny if we find the original?"

"Well, he's still our friend — as long as he doesn't kill us — and he wouldn't be the first Danny clone in our lives, so now you would get TWO Danny's to crush on!"

"Shut _up_ , Tucker. Let it die already."

"Hey, you gotta be honest someday. With him, and with yourself."

* * *

' _Oh come on, seriously?!'_ Dick moaned to himself and shifted under a pile of books. He hadn't even been in position for ten seconds.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" a girl said as she kneeled. She gave him a hand to help him right himself. He caught sight of a flash of pale blonde hair and salmon-colored jeans. She looked away and found his sunglasses a couple feet away.

"Don't worry about it. I wasn't looking where I was going," he assured. Dick felt his face and noticed something critical was missing. "Have you seen my glasses? *I can't be seen without my glasses*," he finished with theatrical bravado.

The girl laughed. "Hahaha! Johnny Bravo, right? Classic! Don't worry, I have them here." They both stood and finally made eye contact as she held them out to him.

Her flirty demeanor immediately frosted over, a contorted expression of disgust evaporating the smile instantly. Her eyes did a quick once-over of his chosen civvies.

"Ugh, Fenton?" she gagged. She roughly shoved the glasses against his chest. Dick looked down at them, then back at her in confusion. "I can't believe I just apologized to-...and _flirted_ with *Fenton.* See you later, freak."

With that, she stormed away, her dropped books forgotten.

"What the heck do these people have against this kid?" Dick murmured. He returned his attention to the conversation on the other side of the bookshelf.

" _-to recap,"_ the boy was saying, _"desperate, demented scientists; timing of their visits to Amity; coinciding change in behavior and physical appearance; and lab accident."_

' _Interesting. I wouldn't put it past Cadmus… What do they mean by lab accident?'_ Dick quickly pulled out his phone and composed a message to Bruce.

Dick: _Reinvestigate any interactions between Fenton Works and Cadmus labs. Evaluate Spence's movements for the months of August and September. Fenton's friends are suspicious as well._

Bruce: _Affirmative. That explains the breach in cyber-security earlier this morning._

Dick returned his attention to Sam and Tucker's conversation.

" _Well, he's still our friend—as long as he doesn't kill us—and he wouldn't be the first Danny clone in our lives, so now you get TWO Danny's to crush on!"_ the boy continued.

Red flags were immediately raised. _' "Wouldn't be the first Danny clone?" What could that possibly mean? Is there a history of cloning in Amity Park too?'_ He added this to the growing list of things to investigate. Perhaps it could explain the simultaneous existence of the nearly-identical (personality- and physique-wise) Phantom.

* * *

After Dick confirmed he was returning to the base, Bruce returned his attention to the computer screen. It was almost pitiable how easily hacked Cadmus' systems were, even after Luthor's involvement. He had yet to initiate the search of Fenton Works and Cadmus' interactions; instead, an inexplicable gut feeling told him to check the security footage from New Year's two years prior. The unexplained hours spent off-world could have easily served as a distraction from other goings-on.

He began with the cloning chamber and immediately came across a group emerging from the hidden vault. Onscreen, Lex Luthor and a handful of scientists pulled a frosted-over pod containing an indistinguishable figure, its silhouette identifying it as an amputee. A second capsule containing a muscular figure in white, also difficult to distinguish due to the cryo-stasis, soon followed. But the emergence of a third figure immediately engrossed Bruce with its contents and drove him to loop the feed. This pod only had a slight distortion from condensation and allowed for a much clearer picture of who—or what—was inside.

It was a leaner raven-haired boy dressed in a simple white spandex uniform.

Only a fleeting second of video gave a decent-enough view of the boy's face, but it was enough. It seemed as if the mystery of the two _—three_ _—_ teens would only ever convolute rather than lead them to the answers. A haunting question now overshadowed the rest:

Which one was the clone?

Later that day, there was only one thing left to be done in preparation for the highly anticipated ball: orchestrating Bruce and Dick's public arrival in Amity Park. The billionaire's private WayneTech jet approached Amity Park on autopilot with Alfred on board. Batman and Robin met the jet thirty-five miles outside town where the Bat Plane docked on its roof at speed. The cabins then attached via a hatch, allowing the Dynamic Duo to drop inside. Hatches sealed, the Bat Plane flew itself back to its hidden location outside Elmerton while the WayneTech jet veered towards the larger town.

Less than twenty minutes later, Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson stepped out of the jet on the tarmac at Amity Airport while Alfred got their chosen car out of the storage bay at the rear. A small crowd of reporters waited eagerly, thanks to a Metropolis reporter's small tip that Bruce Wayne would be arriving in preparation for the charity event the next day.

And nobody was any the wiser that the black-haired, blue-eyed pair had been there for days.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some of the dialogue comes directly from the "Forever Phantom" episode.It was indeed the shapeshifter Amorpho who Danny and Dick saw entering Fenton Works that morning, not Dani or a clone. Tucker's theory was a bit fun to write because I let my imagination run a bit wild since Tucker's imagination has been doing nothing but. The question is, though: is it *actually* that crazy? Perhaps you may need to...suspend your disbelief. (See what I did there? Heheheheheheheheheheh chapter title wordplay...) Or, perhaps not. OOOORRRR, perhaps a little. As if I'd tell you this early in the game.
> 
> My goal is always to leave you [mentally] screaming or speechless, so let me know if I'm succeeding.


	5. Two to Tango

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's not as much plot development in this chapter, per se, but we do see a lot of character interaction, including Dick and Danny's first official meeting. It still feels like something's missing, but oh, well, what can you do.
> 
> As this is the chapter with the ball, which is a party, I recommend listening to party music to really get the vibe. I recommend listening to this DJ set: "Fatboy Slim British Airways i360 for Cercle" on the Cercle youtube channel. (There is talking for the first like 30 seconds, but it's meant to be part of the recorded set.) Go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AvC05kXS9I

' _what causes change in eye color — Google Search'_

The doorbell distracted Maddie from her tablet screen. She set it aside and opened the door to find one of Danny's friends waiting patiently.

"Hello, Tucker!" she greeted and stepped aside.

Entering, he smiled brightly and asked, "Hey, Mrs. F, is Danny ready?"

"Almost. I keep hearing shouting from his room…" The door clicked shut as Maddie glanced fleetingly upstairs.

"Probably the bow tie Sam made him wear. I'll go give him a hand."

Tucker mounted the stairs and hesitated just before entering Danny's room. He glanced aside and saw Jazz's door sitting slightly ajar. "Hey, Jazz, got a minute?" he peeked in and asked.

Jazz, lounging atop her comforter, looked up from her book. "Sure, Tucker. What's up?" She shut the novel and set it aside.

"So, Danny said he talked to you about the…*situation.*" She nodded. Tucker came inside and leaned casually against her tall dresser. "I was wondering if you'd given it any thought?"

"Well, I've used every method of subliminal interrogation possible, but I don't think Mom and Dad know anything. In fact, it seems like Mom has been worried about something too. I think she might be suspicious that something's up."

Tucker hummed and nodded. "So what do you think is the explanation?"

"I honestly don't know," Jazz admitted. "Ever since he brought it up, I've been…seeing things. You know, little things, here and there—nothing major, but just subtle little hints that he might…not…" She hesitated.

"Might not—what?"

"Might not be my brother," she spat out and looked guiltily to Tucker.

"Might not in what sense? Since when?"

"You know, like  _maybe_  his facial structure doesn't quite match Mom or Dad's, or  _perhaps_  he's not appearing to be short like Mom or massively tall like Dad, or  _potentially_  his behavior has been a little off recently-"

"Off since when?" Tucker prodded.

"Since the accident," she said.

"So what's your theory?"

"I—I don't have one."

"We do. Sam and I. We think we figured it out. Well…I do."

Jazz looked hopefully at him.

"He's Robin's clone swapped out for our Danny around the time of the accident."

Jazz immediately glowered. "Of all the stupid things you could have come up with-"

"No, think about it, Jazz! His behavior has been  _way_  off since then!"

"Yeah, because he suddenly got  _superpowers._ "

"But why would he have been stupid enough to go inside the portal in the first place?! That's not Danny! He had a  _complete_ lack of common sense and general fear of ghosts going inside! And out of the blue, he suddenly wants to check it out?"

"I don't know, I'm not a teenage boy!"

"Come on, you know that's bull. A shy, scaredy-cat boy wouldn't suddenly go inside a portal to another dimension all on his own just to impress me and Sam."

"Tucker," Jazz said, "we both know about Danny's secret crush on Sam, and Sam's secret crush on Danny. Of  _course_  he would go into the portal if it even showed an inkling of impressing Sam. Wouldn't him wanting to prove he  _isn't_  a scaredy-cat be further motivation?"

"Fair enough, but how do you explain his sudden change in appearance?"

Jazz looked at him incredulously. "…Huh?"

"His face! He's always looked sorta like you Fentons, but after the time of the accident his face changed. Look." He took out his phone and opened it to a side-by-side comparison of Danny's yearbook photos from the 8th and 9th grades—before and after the fateful accident. Jazz scrutinized the screen. "I ran it through facial recognition software. It's only a 95% match before and after the accident. How else can you explain a change in appearance?"

"Oh my god," Jazz moaned, suddenly disinterested in the screen. She lazily handed the phone back to him. "It's called  _PUBERTY_ , Tweedle-Dee. Of COURSE his face has changed."

"No, Jazz, come on, you  _have_  to admit something's off!"

"Yeah. I will. He had a lab accident, got superpowers, discovered a genetic duplicate, and hit puberty." She reopened her book and settled back onto the bed. "Come back to me when you have something more solid. Honestly, you two watch too many movies…"

"Maybe you don't watch enough," he grumbled in reply. A shout of frustration came from another room.

"Go help Tweedle-Dum with his tie," Jazz barked. Tucker huffed and went across the hall to maybe-Danny's room.

* * *

" _But what color were Elizabeth Taylor's eyes in reality? The answer is, they were not purple at all but dark blue, and merely appeared to be purple when exposed to lighting, make-up, particular hues of clothing or the photographic re-touching of her images. True purple eyes are extremely rare, and almost always occur in people with albinism — the condition in which a person is born with little or no pigment in their eyes, skin or hair. Albinos possess low levels of melanin, the natural substance that determines pigment. It is this deficiency that creates purp-"_

"I'm ready to go, Mom."

Maddie jolted at the sound of her son's voice. She looked up from her tablet to see Danny standing sheepishly in the kitchen doorway. She couldn't help but tear up at the sight of her son— _'he's my son, Danny's definitely my son'_ —in a tuxedo with slicked back hair. His shoulders rolled forward while his feet turned inwards.

"Oh, Danny," she cooed as she stood, "you look  _so_  handsome!"

He managed a small smile. Maddie held out her open arms, so Danny shuffled over to her. She pulled him into a tight hug and planted a wet kiss on his cheek.

"I love you so much, sweetie."

"I—I love you too, Mom?" He gently removed himself from her vice-like grip. "Are you doing okay?"

"Yes, honey, I'm fine, just…I feel like you're growing up so fast."

"It's just a stuffy dinner Sam's parents are putting on," Danny said as he filled a glass with ice and water.

"I know, but tonight you're socializing with the elite, next month is prom, and the next thing you know you'll be walking down the aisle as you gradually slip away from us…" Her tears began making their presence known.

Danny looked at her in suspicion. "Mom?"

Maddie met his gaze and immediately lost herself in Danny's eyes. The irises were crystalline, practically glacial in their cool intensity. There was such an iciness to his irises, she could almost imagine them leaving a trail of frost if they focused on one spot for too long. There wasn't even a hint of Jack's indigo or her own violet.

' _My baby boy…'_

"Okay, well I'd better get going, Mom," Danny said a little too loudly to be natural.

Maddie saw his apprehension and shook her head to clear it of such deviant thoughts. She rearranged her face to a loving smile. "Have fun tonight, Danny. Say 'hi' to Sam for me!" She pulled him back into a quick yet forceful hug, as if holding him in her arms would confirm she was working herself into a frenzy for nothing.

"Okay, bye." He retreated and dashed out of the house with Tucker. Maddie sighed and eyed her tablet as if it were a predator waiting to attack.

* * *

The socialites of the East Coast descended upon the Amity Country Club for the mid-spring soirée. The Mansons had originally intended to host it on their property, but the guest list soon ballooned beyond their "modest" mansion's capacity. So, after a generous donation to the local Parent-Teacher Association to *strongly suggest* rescheduling an event of their own, the country club was booked and bedecked with elegant decor and endless buffet tables. Majestic arrangements of flowers dwarfed every table while tastefully placed strands of lights gave the entire dining area and surrounding gardens a welcoming golden glow. Mrs. Manson had felt the event was missing something, so a new fountain was constructed adjacent from the main steps down to the lawns.

By 7:30 PM, the setting was abuzz with wealthy businessmen, politicians, local families and even a small handful of foreign dignitaries. The valets had their hands full directing limousines one way and whisking private vehicles in the other. One car in particular caught everyone's attention as it sat rumbling in the line of cars: a spotless Lamborghini Urus painted in a bold cobalt blue. Everyone watching knew there was only one guest on the list who was ostentatious enough to show off in such a car, especially one which had only been on the market for weeks: billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne.

"Why couldn't we have taken the Chiron?" Wally asked from the front passenger seat next to Alfred. "The Chiron's way cooler."

"I  _told_  you, Wally, it only has two seats!" Dick answered from the back left seat. "You'd have to run, and you're in the wrong kind of monkey suit for that arrival."

"Remember the protocols," Bruce interrupted from next to Dick. "Codeword confirmation first before any sensitive information is discussed with Dick. There's no telling how difficult it will be to tell Grayson apart from Fenton despite our precautions."

"What, like this hideous vest you made me wear?" Dick commented snidely, motioning to the paisley-patterned waistcoat which rivaled the car in its colorfulness.

"Chill, Dick, it brings out the blue in your eyes," Wally commented faux-wistfully.

"I rather agree, Master Dick," Alfred added from the driver's seat as the procession of cars advanced. Dick stuck his tongue out at him from behind the seat.

"Focus," Bruce snapped. "Tonight's singular mission is to get close to Danny Fenton and his closest friends and family to find out more about him. Our goal is also to collect a DNA sample for processing back at the cave. Under no circumstances is he to suspect our true motivations."

"Understood," the boys chorused.

"It is imperative we solve this as quickly as possible," Bruce continued. "The profile we've made of him is not encouraging."

"Was it the terrible grades or low social status that did it for you?" Wally asked somewhat sarcastically.

"The attendance. Frequent absences usually mean one of two things when it comes to our world: shady activity or secret superhero."

Dick's eyes widened. "You don't really think he's Phantom, do you? That would be too weird."

The sparkling Urus finally reached the front of the line where hoards of society journalists were waiting hungrily for news stories. Two club workers opened the rear doors for Bruce and Dick while Wally let himself out, a huge smile on his face at the attention. Bruce's serious demeanor evaporated as cameras began to flash upon his appearance. Dick smiled confidently and strode at his side as the trio walked into the event.

* * *

"God, I look so stupid in this," Danny complained.

"I don't think so," Sam responded encouragingly as she straightened his tie. "I think it brings out the icy blue in your eyes."

"But paisley? Seriously?" He grimaced at the cerulean pattern. "This is  _so_  Flower Power, Sam. I'm  _not_  Flower Power."

"Think of it this way," Tucker interjected from beside them on the bench. "There's no way a socialite like Dick Grayson would be caught dead in something as hideous at that."

"Gee, thanks, Tuck," Danny drawled with an eye roll.

To be honest, all three of them were dressed unusually for their personal style. Danny's pristine tuxedo contradicted his typically laid-back style. Tucker wore a nice all-black suit and tie at Sam's insistence (since it was her parents' party and she would be responsible for her friends' appearance), though he still wore a beret, albeit black as well. Sam herself had exchanged her crop top for an eggplant purple dress with Asian-inspired black detailing that accentuated her figure. Elegant matching gloves ran up to her elbows. Her hair was pulled back into a compact bun with a single straightened strand framing the right side of her face.

"I gotta say we clean up pretty nicely," Tucker commented proudly.

Sam placed a hand on her hip and leaned her weight heavily to one side, doing her best exaggerated impression of a model. "You know it," she said in a deep, sultry voice.

"SAMMIEKINS!"

Sam instantly dropped the pose and facepalmed at the shrill voice. "Lord, take me now," she muttered while her two friends snickered lightly.

Pamela Manson came running up as quickly as she could manage in her excessively high heels. "Come on, Bruce Wayne just arrived!" she stage-whispered. With a quick, gleeful smile at the boys, Pam grabbed her daughter's wrist and pulled her away.

"And so it begins…" Danny sighed and leaned forward in his seat. As he stared off after Sam, he began to grit his teeth and nervously wring his hands together.

Tucker looked up from his PDA and noticed his friend's anxiety. "Dude." Danny didn't seem to hear him. "Danny? Hello? Danny!"

Danny snapped out of whatever spell had been cast on him and looked at his hands. He slapped them to his thighs and wiped the gathering sweat away from his palms. "Sorry."

"Danny, we're going to figure this out. Okay? Whatever comes, we're in it together."

Danny opened his mouth to say something but closed it and mutely nodded instead.

"What is it, Danny?"

"I mean, it's just…" He sighed again. Tucker moved closer to him on their bench at the border of the tables and dance floor. "Everything I think I know about myself could change; it could all have just been a lie. I could have a twin, a whole other family, or somehow a clone replaced one of us… If we're not just simple doppelgängers, that means there's a huge secret that's been overshadowing my whole life."

"Yeah, that would suck since we have  _no experience whatsoever_  dealing with that kind of secret," Tucker quipped with a half-smirk. Danny looked at him worriedly for a second before settling into an uneasy smile. Tucker threw an arm around him and pulled him into a half-hug. Danny reciprocated with a light chuckle. The two teens looked up at the distant appearance of their targets for the evening. "Go on, it's showtime."

Danny stood and placed a miniaturized version of the Fenton Phones into his ear. He began making his way through the crowds, grabbing a flute of sparkling apple juice as he went to blend in amongst the adults with their champagne. Tucker stayed behind on the bench to mess around on his smartphone.

As Danny got close to Dick, he couldn't help but marvel at the resemblance. He also marveled at what a mask and disbelief could accomplish for anonymity, because Dick and Robin were virtually identical apart from hairstyle and dress. Dick Grayson's hair was always very pristinely styled whereas Robin's was looser like Danny's typical style. Tonight, though, Danny had tamed his hair into a classy side-part in order to blend in amongst the millionaires and billionaires present. Unfortunately for him, Dick had chosen the exact same style for the evening. And even worse news-

"Dammit, Sam, he's wearing blue paisley too!" Danny hissed into his earpiece and caught Sam's eye from across the crowd. She was still trapped with Bruce Wayne and her mother.

" _How was I supposed to know?"_  she growled back.

" _Great,"_  Tucker quipped sarcastically.

Danny focused on Dick again, taking a large gulp of his drink as he did so. The boy in question was standing near the buffet in a circle of teens, quite a few coming from Casper High, who were all fawning over him either romantically or as bro-like as possible. Dick was grinning smugly and apparently basking in the attention while a familiar-looking redhead stood at his side incessantly rolling his eyes. Danny couldn't quite hear their conversation, but he watched as they frequently laughed at whatever stories Dick was telling.

"You're staring."

"GAH!" Danny jumped at the voice beside his ear and saw Sam smirking at him. "What the heck, Sam!"

"I finally slipped away from Mom. You need to be a  _lot_  more subtle. You'll never be a secret agent at this rate."

"I never  _wanted_  to be a secret agent," he grumbled.

"So what are you waiting for? Go talk to him."

"What am I supposed to say?"

"What we rehearsed!"

"…We rehearsed?"

Sam scoffed and rolled her eyes. "You were spacing out this afternoon, weren't you."

"Maybe I was," Danny conceded.

"Just introduce yourself and say, 'Hey, you look really familiar! Do I know you?' and go from there."

"I can't just walk up to him, not when he's surrounded by all the A-Listers!"

"Then let's get closer and wait for an opening." She looped her gloved arm through the elbow of the arm holding his drink and gracefully maneuvered closer to the circle of popular kids.

"…So my foot's totally stuck in there, right? I'm freaking out, the dog's having a seizure and I still got half a pie left," they overheard Dick saying as they approached. "So I finally just told Wally, 'I TOLD you she's allergic to rhubarb!' " Everyone in the circle broke into hysterics while a redhead at Dick's side flushed in embarrassment. "And then we were all just dying— _literally_ , in the dog's case…"

Sam rolled her eyes. "Oh my god, he sounds like a jerk," she whispered to Danny. Their backs were to the other teens as they pretended to graze the hors d'oeuvres.

"Not as much as the people who think that's funny," he muttered back and bit forcefully into a stuffed olive.

"Excuse me?" a woman asked from beside Sam. Danny frowned in confusion when he realized she was looking directly at him. He looked to Sam for direction, but she was just as confused. "Sorry to interrupt," the woman said to Sam. "I'm Vicki Vale. I was wondering if I could get a quote for the Gazette?"

"What Gazette?" Danny asked.

"The Gotham Gazette, obviously," she replied.

"But…why me?"

"Surely that goes without saying," she replied. "As an inhabitant of one of the most supervillain-ridden cities and a frequent kidnapping target, your presence at a post-attack benefit won't go unnoticed."

Danny became even more confused. "We don't have supervillains here, do we?" he asked Sam. She shrugged helplessly.

"I'm talking about Gotham, Mr. Grayson."

Suddenly, their conversation made sense. "I'm sorry, Ms. Vale, but you must be confusing me with somebody else. I'm Danny Fenton; I live here in Amity."

"You're not Dick Grayson?" Vale asked suspiciously. She looked him up and down. "You certainly look like him."

"Well, the kid you're looking for is right over there." He pointed to the group of teens who had gravitated towards a waiter carrying a tray of bruschetta.

"My apologies, Mr.—uh—Fenton, was it?"

"Yeah. Don't worry about it." He smiled kindly and shook her hand. As soon as her back was turned, his smile dropped.

"Excuse me?" another female voice piped up. Sam and Danny turned around. Another blonde woman stood with a microphone in hand and cameraman at her side. "Cat Grant, GBS News. I was wondering if you would like to share your thoughts about-"

"I'm still not Dick Grayson. He's over there," Danny interrupted with an annoyed frown and jabbed thumb in Dick's general direction.

"Oh…sorry," Ms. Grant apologized and immediately made a beeline for the other teens.

"Well, we're definitely not crazy," Sam said. "You two sure must look identical."

* * *

"Hello, little badger," a smooth voice oozed. Dick ignored it and continued typing on his smartphone. There was a sigh before a hand roughly grabbed his shoulder and spun him around. "Rather rude to give your benevolent mayor the silent treatment, hmmmmm?"

"Excuse me?"

The two appraised each other. The man's silver hair shimmered under the criss-crossing string lights. A tuxedo hugged the man's figure in such a way that only a bespoke creation could. His sloping, hawk-like nose and deep-set indigo eyes expressed boundless condescension for anyone and everyone who crossed paths with this man.

"Vladimir Masters," Dick replied curtly to the man who sat at the top of Bruce's watch list.

"That's certainly a step up from your usual pet name, though you won't hear me complain, will you, Daniel?" he said with a confident grin.

' _So this old creep thinks I'm Danny. I wonder what he wants?'_

"Certainly not. Though, I'm surprised; I would have thought complaining is something you excel at."

" 'At which you excel,' my dear boy…but yes. What on earth motivated you to come to an exclusive event such as this?"

"Oh, you know…the usual."

"What, public spirit? Altruism? Looking out for the little guy?" Vlad asked mockingly. "What rubbish."

"Gasp!" Dick spoke with faux offense. "A mayor who cares not for his citizens? I  _am_  surprised."

"I do hope I have sufficiently trampled your scruples. Might I take this opportunity to remind you that my offer still stands?"

"Which one was that again?"

"Oh, please. You know as well as I that my empire is still in need of a successor."

"Is it, now? Well, golly gosh goodness, isn't that just tempting."

"I'm surprised you haven't mentioned the disownment or 'evil apprenticeship,' past which you never seem able to progress. Does this mean you're finally coming round, Daniel? Or are you still disgruntled over those minute details?"

"Oh, don't worry, I'm very *gruntled.* But you keep saying 'Daniel,' which leads me to believe you have the wrong person…" Dick suggested.

Vlad's unflappable confidence faltered. "What?"

"Dick! There you are, my boy," a sultry voice called. Dick and Vlad both turned to see an approaching Bruce Wayne. "Ah, good evening, Vlad. I see you've met my ward, Richard Grayson?" He affectionately grasped Dick's shoulders while the boy smirked triumphantly.

Vlad spluttered. "Richard? So this isn't-"

"Who did you think I was, Mr. Masters?" Dick asked innocently.

"But you look just like-" Vlad trailed off and glanced around the party, his eyes falling onto a particular teen speaking with the Mansons' daughter.

"Don't I just?" Dick replied, following his gaze. "I have to go find my friend Wally and make sure he's not too bored. Have a nice evening, Mr. Masters!" And with a smile, he disappeared into the crowds.

"Are you enjoying yourself, Vlad?" Bruce asked.

"What?" Vlad said and returned his attention to the billionaire standing before him. "Oh. Yes, indeed. Your ward certainly banters easily."

"Yes. Comes with the job, I suppose."

Vlad's eyebrow quirked. "What job is that?" he asked, his mind jumping immediately to that of Danny's alter ego.

"A socialite, of course!" Bruce answered with a laugh. "I'm headed to the bar for another Long Island. I've only had three and I've been here a whole  _hour_  already. See you around!"

"Yes, indeed," Vlad muttered absently, but Bruce was already gone. Two perfectly identical teens occupied the aging billionaire's thoughts. He glanced from Daniel to Dick, and back again.  _'Of course it was him. Just my luck, it would be him…'_

* * *

Regardless of how much he adored the spotlight, Wally still exhausted himself quickly pretending to be interested in 'snobby rich people things.' He successfully abandoned Dick to the clutches of a scheming local Latina with a penchant for pink and maneuvered himself around the groups of social climbers. Wally found a bench with a sole teen on it, an African-American boy in a suit with black Converses and beret. The boy seemed totally engrossed in his smartphone, so Wally sat down heavily and leaned on the arm of the bench for support.

"What're you in for?"

Wally started at the sudden question from the boy next to him. He chuckled lightly and replied, "Supporting a friend. You?"

"Supporting a friend."

"Nice." The two boys nodded lazily in understanding of each other. "Name's Wally."

"Tucker." They shook hands before Tucker returned to whatever he was doing on his phone.

"Sweet. So which poor sap are you here for?"

"My friend Danny."

"Wait…Danny  _Fenton?_ "

Tucker looked up. "Yeah, what's it to you?" he asked suspiciously.

"Oh, nothing," Wally replied hastily. "I, uh, just met him. Nice kid. Seems…preoccupied."

"Yeah, that's why I'm here. Although I think Sam's doing a better job right now."

"Sam?"

"Our other friend. The walking Hot Topic advertisement." Tucker gestured over to the other side of the dance floor where a dark-haired girl stood at the periphery of a group of adults, doing her best to be a human embodiment of indifference. "What about you?"

"Dick Grayson."

Suddenly Tucker bolted upright on the bench. "You're here with Dick Grayson?"

"Uh…yeah?"

Before Tucker could come up with a diversion, a black-haired boy in a tuxedo with blue paisley accessories stumbled past the closest group of people and approached the bench.

"Hey, Dick/Danny," Wally and Tucker greeted in unison.

The boy's brow furrowed in confusion. "Um…"

"Frozen hearts?" Wally asked hopefully.

"What, are you gonna start singing 'Let It Go' or something?" he snapped back. So this was  _not_  Dick. The newcomer turned to Tucker. "I'm getting nowhere with the Grayson kid," he continued while Tucker tried to subtly shake his head, making a slicing motion across his throat. "Kid's slipperier than a reanimated hot dog. Plus, he acts like a rich snobby prick."

Wally tried to suppress a snort at the new arrival's words. He typed a quick text to Dick.

Wally:  _May be onto us or investigating himself. Friend Tucker involved and girl Sam_

"Danny, this is Wally,  _a friend of Dick Grayson_ ," Tucker responded with heavy implication in his tone. Realization dawned on the newcomer's face. This was definitely Danny. In fact, Danny showed signs of recognizing Wally too, now that he had registered Wally as one of Dick's friends. Wally's phone buzzed.

Dick:  _Acknowledged_

"Oh…sorry," Danny said and nervously drank the rest of his sparkling juice as he glanced around the party. "You known him a while?"

"Oh, yeah, we go  _way_  back," Wally answered.

Before Danny could ply further as Wally suspected he would, an almost identical boy appeared with far greater grace than the first. He too wore a tuxedo with an almost identical set of blue paisley accessories. He stood at Danny's side to join the growing group.

"Frozen hearts?"

"Savage obstacles," Dick replied, and Wally sagged in relief. "Man, that Paulina chick is  _crazy_ ," he complained, earning a chuckle from Danny. Wally and Tucker, however, were simply staring at the two side by side now that they had a chance to look.

"What?" they asked in unison. Danny and Dick glanced at each other.

Both Wally and Tucker individually knew that Dick and Danny looked similar; it's what had brought them all here this evening, after all. But seeing them together in person was a different sensation entirely, especially since their chosen attire and hair styles practically mirrored each other this evening.

Danny, of course, immediately searched Dick's eyes for any semblance of recognition so he could confirm his suspicions of Robin and Dick being one and the same. There maybe was a brief glimmer, but surprise soon overtook Dick's face. "You look really familiar…" he commented offhandedly. Danny couldn't be sure it was an act, but it was a good one if it were.

"Uh, yeah, so do you…"

"Maybe it's because you LOOK IDENTICAL," Tucker interrupted loudly. The two raven-haired teens looked at him before stepping back and giving each other a thorough once-over.

" _Smoooooth, Tucker,"_ Sam hissed in their earpieces.

"There you are!" a shrill voice exclaimed from behind Dick. Paulina materialized and waved excitedly at Danny who frowned with confusion and waved weakly in reply. Paulina ran up to him and threw her arms around his neck before very obviously striking an attractive pose which accentuated her curves. Danny blushed profusely while the other boys present couldn't help but smirk at the teen who now looked very afraid.

"Um, I think you have the wrong guy, Paulina," Danny replied and gently removed her arms from his neck. At her confused expression, he continued, "I'm Danny. Danny Fenton?" He nodded towards the boy standing behind her. " _That_  is Dick Grayson."

"Wait…" She turned around, eyes going wide before she turned back to the first boy. "Fenton?!" Paulina practically screeched, all flirtatiousness gone. "What are you doing here? And since when do you have a twin?"

"You tell me," he answered, giving Dick a discerning gaze.

"Hey, it's news to me," he said with an innocent shrug.

"But—this is impossible!" Paulina continued, her voice raising as she looked between them. "There can't be two of you! You're too much of a loser freak to look like someone as rich and powerful and cool as Dick Grayson!"

Her insult garnered her the attention from people nearby. One by one, the people nearby began to see Dick and Danny's resemblance now that they were standing side by side. Their conversations gave way to shocked murmuring. Danny looked around guiltily as the focus of the event seemed to immediately shift onto him and his doppelgänger. Soon, the two boys were surrounded by guests as cameras began to flash.

"Just great, the media will have a field day with this," Dick grumbled.

"At least that's all you'll have to deal with when you go home. I  _live_  here," Danny said in reply. His eyes locked onto Sam as she muscled her way into the circle.

"Danny, what's going on?" she demanded of Dick.

"Wrong kid, kiddo," Wally replied over the growing clamor of the crowd. He gestured to the real Danny.

"Your paisley idea really helped, thanks, Sam," Danny quipped sarcastically. Sam groaned and rolled her eyes. Dick's eyebrow quirked.

"Is he a lost Grayson?" a woman asked from nearby.

"Is  _he_  a lost  _Fenton?_ " the man next to her replied.

"There's no  _way_  Fenturd is related to him!" a dashing blond teen shouted with a dramatic sweep of his hand.

"Can we talk?" Danny quietly asked Dick. He nodded discreetly, and both looked to their respective companions for help. Wally, Sam and Tucker all caught the hint.

"Alright, people, let's give them some room," Tucker spoke loudly and stood to shove his way through the crowd. Danny and Dick followed in his microscopic wake until they broke through.

"Come on, this way!" Danny instructed and made a break for the gardens. Dick kept up easily until they slowed to a stop on a nearby grassy knoll overlooking the party. They stood there silently for a moment, appraising each other.

"So…that happened," Dick began.

Danny chuckled nervously. "Yeah, I guess it did. I'm not used to having all the attention on me. Well, not-…uh, nope, never."

Dick noticed his verbal stumble but didn't comment on it. Danny was hiding something. "So, did you never realize you look like me before?"

"No, not until last week. Some…*people*…pointed it out."

"Oh yeah? Who?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try me."

Danny shrugged and took out his phone, opening his selfie with Robin. He watched Dick's reaction closely through side eyes. There was surprise, but it seemed slightly delayed. Exactly the sort of reaction one would have when acting.

Just like Danny has done countless times because of his antics as Phantom.

"Whoa! You met Robin?"

"Most of their sidekick team, actually."

"Protegé," Dick muttered, intending only for himself to hear.

"What was that?"

"Nothing," he answered slightly too quickly. "So, what did you think of them?" Dick continued in a somewhat leading tone.

Danny, being a teenage boy with strong suspicions and a rare opportunity, couldn't help but grin at the chance to make Dick squirm if he truly was Robin. "Oh, they were nice enough, considering I did accidentally break into their super-secret base. The archer chick was way too suspicious for her own good. Aqua-dude is less emotional than my math teacher. And Kid Speedy-" Dick inwardly cringed on Wally's behalf "-was cool. Very cool. Robin, though…" He sighed and shook his head, inwardly jumping for joy at Dick's minorly hurt expression.

"Wha- why? What's wrong with Robin?" Dick prodded.

"Dude has a stick up his butt. Honestly," Danny replied, "kid needs to chill every once in a while. I thought they'd get it that I didn't want to be there any more than they wanted me there, but the way he acted, it was as if I was a villain. But then, the *strangest* thing: as soon as we left, he started acting all buddy-buddy and even wanted to take a selfie with me! I mean, what all that was about?" he finished rhetorically.

Dick shrugged noncommittally.

"I feel like he could be a nice guy underneath the suit, though. Actually," Danny chuckled, "he sort of looks and sounds like you too. Or, well, I guess…*us.*"

* * *

"What is he doing?" Sam hissed at Tucker as they watched the two boys running off into the garden.

"I don't know," Tucker whispered in reply. "Do you think he'll just ask Dick if he knows anything?"

"I sure hope he knows better than to do that. What are we gonna do? This isn't at  _all_  going according to plan!"

"The media having a field day certainly won't help anyone." Tucker warily observed the multitude of reporters researching or talking on their phones while cameramen stood by glancing through photos and video.

"Hey, guys!" Wally interrupted with a plate of snacks in hand. "So you're Danny's friends?"

"Uh, yeah," Sam replied with false nicety. " _Best_  friends."

"Sweet. So am I with Dick. Kid's a bit serious sometimes, but a nice guy underneath that costume." His face froze in horror.

"Costume?" Sam prodded.

"Uh, you know…" He shrugged. "Snobby rich ward? Socialite? Why, uh, what did you think I meant?"

' _Gotcha,'_ Sam thought. She said aloud, "Oh, I see what you mean. I dunno, I thought you were gonna say he was, like, a…*superhero* or something."

Wally's grin could not be more false if he tried.

* * *

Screams interrupted Danny and Dick's conversation. Both boys' heads whipped back to the party where a glowing figure hovered near the buffet. Immediately, Danny's ghost sense went off, though Dick was fortunately looking away.

"What's going on?" the rich socialite asked.

"Ghost attack! One of the joys of living in Amity Park. Stay here; you'll be safe. I'll find help." Danny ran off into the bushes. Dick's phone buzzed.

Wally:  _You seeing this? You alone?_

Dick:  _Yes to both_

No sooner had he sent it than a gust of wind heralded the arrival of Wally next to him. "Dude, I don't think I'm cut out for being a super-spy in addition to being a superhero."

"News to me," Dick quipped, earning a brief glare from the speedster as they watched the party.

"But dude, those three are definitely onto us. Their questions are too…specific. And…I may have accidentally said you're cool underneath the costume."

"Wally!"

"I passed it off as a metaphor, okay?! Pretending to be a rich snob to hide the softie within or whatever? Now what are we going to do about the floating-glowing monster thing attacking the party?"

"I have no idea."

"What happened to Fenton?"

"He ran off as soon as we heard the screams."

"Think he's your superhero after all?" Wally asked somewhat jokingly.

At that moment, a second glowing figure streaked across the sky from the direction Danny had run in.

"Considering the timing of his disappearance and the local hero's arrival…I'd say it's a possibility again. C'mon, let's get a closer look."

The two sprinted back to the party, where a wrestling match ensued. Most of the guests had scattered, going to the edges of the soirée setup or running inside for shelter. However, most of the locals were familiar with how these fights went down and knew that Phantom actively protected them from harm, so they didn't mind hovering a little closer than actually safe to watch.

The attacking ghost was widely recognized as the Lunch Lady who had taken offense at the upper class' wide array of cuisine choices for the buffet.

"Hey, why don't we *meat* in the middle here and figure out a way to stop terrorizing these guests?" Phantom shouted as he phased out of a pile of gourmet sliders.

"You have no right to interfere, ghost child!" she roared, then offered sweetly, "Chicken kabobs?"

"Pass." Phantom instead rocketed towards her, but she expertly dove out of the way before coming to a stop right in front of Dick and Wally. Her eyes widened dramatically.

"But you're-?" she began and allowed her eyes to dart towards Phantom to seemingly reassure herself he was still there. She turned back to Dick and scowled.

"Hi?" he offered.

"Get away from him!" Phantom side-tackled the woman into the fountain basin where the meat disintegrated around her. She fought back, a surprise kick smashing his nose as he sailed backwards. Phantom landed against a large planter looking slightly out of sorts. A small amount of ectoplasm dribbled from his more-than-likely dislocated nose. Frowning, the hero wiped it from his face and stood.

While Phantom returned to the flight, Dick noticed a drop of the ectoplasm shining against the polished dance floor. He nudged Wally's arm and handed him a DNA sample kit. As Dick subtly gestured to the spot, Wally nodded in understanding. The speedster's crouched form flickered before holding out a glowing Q-tip in a plastic baggie. The two boys fist-bumped in victory.

Phantom used a distraction to uncap his thermos—identical to Danny's, Dick noted—and trap the aggressor inside. An uneasy peace descended onto the crowd as they withdrew from hiding and looked on at Phantom. The ghost teen in question slowly turned around to face everyone, glancing repeatedly at Dick and Wally. "Um…sorry about the mess, everyone." He chuckled sheepishly and vanished.

After a beat of silence, Pamela Manson stepped up to a podium and microphone on a riser. "Good-"she cleared her throat "Good evening, everyone." The guests slowly materialized from their various hiding places and created a scattered crowd. "It brings me great peace of mind that everyone has survived this villainous assault virtually unscathed. While this is something to celebrate, I would remind you that it is only the latest in a long series of incidents plaguing our community."

Dick noticed Danny weaving amongst the guests to rejoin Sam and Tucker.

"Our world is under attack, and we must be thankful to the heroes of the Justice League fighting to protect us. But, let us not forget that not all responsibility must fall on them. Defeating the treat is only the first stage of a super-battle. Our communities are left in near-ruin, left in desperate need of intervention. We simply cannot rely on our superhuman champions to rebuild; Lord knows our local hero *Phantom* certainly doesn't."

At that, Dick scowled. He risked a glance over at Danny who apparently shared his sentiment.

"This is where your generosity comes in," Mrs. Manson continued. "The newly-established Damage and Aftereffect Relief Endowment—DARE for short—exists to 'sweep up' after major fights and aid families in re-establishing their lives. It is only with your donations that we can hope to recover from attacks. Tonight's attack was brief—and the Manson family offers complimentary dry cleaning services to anyone whose clothes were soiled by the ghosts—but tomorrow's? Who's to say? DARE to believe. DARE to persevere. DARE…to donate. Thank you."

Mrs. Manson's speech was met with scattered applause which gradually grew in passion. The shambled remains of the soiree served as an excellent example of what happened regularly around the world and motivated many guests to dig into their deep pockets for the sake of reconstruction. The remaining plutocrats soon followed suit once Bruce Wayne was caught donating a more-than-substantial sum.

But Danny's callus was not lost on Dick and Wally. The local boy sulked away with a glower. His two friends made to follow, but he waved them off. Dick nudged Wally and said, "I'm going to go see what's bothering him."

It wasn't hard to trace Danny. Dick skirted around the recommencing party and found him on the bench where Wally had met Tucker. Danny's face rested in his palms, and his elbows dug into his knees. "Hey, other me," Dick greeted lightheartedly.

Danny's eyes closed momentarily while he took a deep, slow breath. "Hey," he finally managed. "You didn't get hurt, did you? During the—during the fight?"

"Nah, I'm fine," Dick answered with a flick of his hand. He plopped down next to Danny. "Been through worse. But it was cool to see up close."

"Dangerous though. Don't you know to stay back?"

"Eh, I was never one for sitting aside," Dick said with a secretive smile. He sobered then continued, "So what did you think of what that Manson lady said?"

"Rebuilding after a big fight is important, sure."

"But you didn't look like you agreed much back there," Dick prodded.

Danny sighed. "I wis—I mean, I would  _prefer-_ " He hesitated at Dick's reaction to his sudden change of words. "We've had problems with a genie ghost. Better not to say 'wish' around here. Anyway, I think our local hero deserves more credit than he gets from a lot of the locals."

"I don't know, though," Dick countered. "I mean, hostage situations, serial robberies, regular public endangerment…?"

"All of those are explainable," Danny nearly growled. "Phantom does a lot more to help this town than most people realize. If he were to take a break, my parents wouldn't know what to do with all the attacks they never even see."

Hearing a commotion, Dick glanced across the event. "Speak of the devil…"

The Fenton parents came barreling through the crowd shouting for the ghost. The locals shook their heads in embarrassment while the visitors appeared bemused.

"Oh, god," Danny moaned and buried his face in his hands.

"Where is it?! Where's the ghost?!" Jack Fenton shouted.

"It's already gone, Dad," Danny droned loudly. His parents' heads snapped in the direction of the bench. Dick glanced between the two generations of Fentons.

"Danny, sweetie, are you alright?" Maddie asked as she ran up. She knelt down in front of Dick and caressed his cheeks before turning his head this way and that. "You didn't get caught in the fight, did you?"

Dick, shell-shocked, nudged Danny into uncovering his face. Danny's eyes widened. "Mom! Stop!" he said. "That's not me!"

"D—Danny?" Maddie looked at Dick again and snatched her hands back as if they'd been burnt. "You're not—but you—?"

"Mom, this is the very rich, very powerful,  _very embarrassed_  Richard Grayson," Danny introduced.

Dick tried to brush it off so he wouldn't worry the Fentons about embarrassing him, but he could only manage a half-hearted scoff and flick of his wrist…because of the embarrassment.

"Oh, I am so sorry! You practically look identical!" She laughed. "Nice to meet you, Richard."

"Actually, I prefer Dick."

Danny glared at the immature snort emanating from Tucker's general vicinity.

"The ghost emergency has passed. Mrs. Fenton, I presume?" Dick asked.

"Yes, we're Danny's parents," Jack crowed loudly and shook Dick's hands. "Well, if the ghost has gone, I guess we can head home, Mads."

"Yes! Please. I'll see you later?" Danny said and gave them a pleading smile.

"Ok, enjoy your evening, boys," Maddie said with one final uneasy glance at her son.

"We will," Danny and Dick chorused. They shared a look upon hearing the other speak in sync.

* * *

Jack and Maddie did not return home feeling triumphant. Their feet shuffled along the tile, taking Jack to the basement stairs and Maddie to a kitchen cabinet. Not a word was exchanged. Maddie found what she was looking for—an unopened bottle of Merlot—and poured herself a glass. The woman plopped down ungracefully at the kitchen table and rested her chin on her left palm, while the right lazily swirled the glass of wine.

She was not crazy. She was not struggling with post-natal stress or PTSD. Something connected her 'son' to the identical Richard Grayson. But what? Where to start? What questions to ask, and of who?

Her eyes locked onto a single abandoned water glass sitting at the far end of the table. A single bead of condensation trickled down the side. Even from her distance, Maddie could make out the impression of Danny's lips from when he'd taken a sip before leaving for the ball.

"Damn it," Maddie muttered. She chugged the rest of the wine as if it were merely grape juice before slamming the glass back onto the table.

Maddie, brimming with determination, stood from her chair and searched the kitchen until she found the drawer she was looking for, never able to remember where her family kept the storage bags. A sideways thrust of her hip shut the drawer. She ripped open the seal of a gallon Ziploc bag, marched across the kitchen and dumped the excess water out before placing the glass inside the bag. Maddie resealed it and hurriedly scribbled a label on the bag with a Sharpie.

"Damn it all to hell."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did y'all catch the Drake and Josh reference in one of the party scenes? Apparently there's also a Yu-Gi-Oh reference as well, though I admit...it was accidental.


	6. Shell Game

When Maddie had found  _[FAILURE: IRRECONCILABLE CONTAMINATION]_  flashing on her computer screen Saturday morning, she was shocked. It was a simple swab from a water glass; what contamination could there possibly be? Maddie took the swab and glass to a lab table to run some tests.

Imagine her surprise when trace ectoplasmic radiation could be detected. And this was a  _swab_ , and the contamination was  _measurable_  without molecular analysis. So on a hunch, she passed another swab through a desktop version of the ghost catcher. Maddie then grabbed a handheld scanner and passed it over the purified sample.

_[NO ECTOPLASMIC RADIATION DETECTED]_

"How very reassuring, I think not," Maddie muttered to herself. She merely earned a passive glance in her direction from Jack as he left to take Jazz to the store.

Maddie processed the purified swab for analysis and initiated the test once again. It would only be a few hours until the test would finish.

Only a few more hours until she'd know. Now to figure out that contamination issue. Perhaps it was residual contamination from working on projects in the kitchen? And it was on the glass and not in Danny's saliva? Yes. This sounded better. Horrifying, but better the entire household be a biohazard than her son be a walking Chernobyl.

Perhaps a hair sample from his hairbrush as a control sample…

…and a childhood blood sample from cryo-storage. That was reasonable…right?

* * *

" _Fenton RV has left the property. Danny left on foot twenty minutes ago. House is quiet."_

"Copy," Robin answered. He shot a line across the street and zipped to Danny's bedroom window.

' _Huh. Unlocked.'_ He slipped inside and crouched down on the floor of the teenager's messy bedroom.

" _INTRUDER ALERT. INTRUDER ALERT."_

A defense system immediately engaged with red beacon lights flashing everywhere. Jack Fenton's voice repeated the alarm incessantly. When what appeared to be ectoplasmically charged gatling guns lowered from the ceiling, Robin crouched down, ready to jump out of the way of flying bullets.

" _Anti-Creep Mode activated. Provide nominal override or die a painful death."_

Seeing as he resembled Danny in almost every capacity, and Danny had been able to enter the zeta tube on  _his_ credentials, Robin shouted on a frenzied hunch, "Override: Daniel Fenton!"

For a suffocatingly long moment, all sirens silenced. The flashing red lights suddenly turned green, and the guns retracted into the ceiling.  _"Recognized: Daniel Fenton,"_  the computer spoke, then said more jovially in Jack's voice,  _"Sorry about that, Dann-o! Have a great day!"_

And the room once again looked as if it were just a normal teenager's bedroom.

Robin let out a long breath and stood upright once more. "That was interesting."

" _That was CLOSE. As if we needed any more confirmation you guys look alike,"_ Wally added over their comm link.

Robin rummaged around the room until he found a hairbrush on the dresser. He removed a large amount of the hair, just in case there was cross-contamination with Sam (Robin wouldn't be surprised, given how close Sam and Danny were proving to be.) and more testing was needed. He placed it securely in a ziploc baggie before reaching for the window.

"What are you doing home?"

Robin whipped around to find Maddie Fenton standing in the doorway. His jaw slackened slightly before he regained control of his senses.

"And in your old Halloween costume, no less!" she added and shook her head, a sentimental smile inching its way across her mouth. "I remember when you came home with that thing. Your father was so disappointed when you didn't want to go as Peter Venkman…"

Robin chuckled nervously. "I was just curious if it still fit. And it does!" he said.

"Didn't you say you were on your way to Tucker's to study?"

"Um…yeah, I was just about to leave."

"Wearing  _that?_ "

Robin looked down at his uniform—costume, in Mrs. Fenton's mind.

"At least take off the mask, or someone might mistake you for the real one."

Robin's heart stopped until Maddie lightly chuckled at her own joke. He nervously joined in. A shaking hand rose to his domino mask and hovered over the accessory. The hand dropped. "Actually, it took a while to get it to stay in place. I think I'll just leave it on."

"Nonsense, Danny. I won't have you leaving this house wearing a mask like a burglar."

She strode forward, and before Robin knew what was happening— _'God, this woman has fast reflexes'_ —he was unmasked. Dick winced in pain from where the spirit gum had pulled at his face.

"Oh, sweetie, I'm so sorry! I didn't know you were using spirit gum..." Maddie said. She caressed his cheeks and appraised the reddening skin.

Dick gulped and awaited his impending logistical doom once Mrs. Fenton recognized him. But, it never came. She simply frowned slightly, cocked her head to the side, shrugged and held out the mask.

"You look much better," she assured. "Get a move on, sweetie. You don't want to keep Tucker waiting!"

"I sure don't!" he agreed with a little too much enthusiasm. "See you later, Mrs.- uh, Mom."

"Just Mom is fine," she corrected with a twinkle in her eye.

Dick smiled and sped downstairs and out the front door. He waited until he was out of sight of the house before darting behind some trash bins. Kid Flash appeared moments later.

"That was even closer! Oh, man, I would have wet my pants."

"When you deal with the Bat every day, a middle-aged mom ripping off the one thing protecting your secret identity: Not scary."

The two boys laughed it off and fist-bumped.

"So you realize what this means, right?" KF asked.

"What?"

Wally grinned ear-to-ear. "Danny went as you for Halloween at some point in the recent past."

Robin flushed a shade of red similar to that of his uniform. He cleared his throat, took out the baggie of hair and handed it to Kid Flash. "Here. Can you run this to Batman for him to have analyzed?"

"Sure." KF put the sample away.

"I'm headed to Tucker Foley's for recon. Apparently they're studying."

"Ok, meet you there." KF dashed off to deliver the hair to Batman. Robin took to the rooftops to shadow Danny. Much to Robin's surprise, Danny had yet to arrive at the Foley's and showed no signs of appearing anytime soon. Robin instead found entertainment in hacking the city's traffic cameras to watch a ghost fight happening across town.

* * *

Lucius Fox lazily spun in his desk chair to face the windows. His 79th-flooroffice suite's balcony overlooking Gotham Bay seemed much more inviting than the expense reports cluttering his computer screen.

A midtone electronic bleeping caught his attention. Lucius' gaze fell on the computer screen where a security alert was flashing.

_[Attention: SECURITY PROTOCOL OVERRIDE BW-1]_

The lock on the sliding glass doors to the balcony clicked before the doors slid apart automatically. Within seconds, a harsh buzzing noise filled Lucius' ears as a drone dropped down outside and piloted itself into the room. It set itself down on the floor in front of Lucius' desk and cut its power, not before disturbing most of the loose paperwork in the room.

Mr. Fox sighed.

The top of the drone soundlessly slid open and began projecting a holographic image.

"When I developed the prototype of a long-distance, supersonic drone, this is not quite what I had in mind," Lucius drawled.

 _"I need some testing done immediately,"_  Batman's visage replied. Another panel on the drone opened with a hiss.  _"DNA and chemical analysis on both. Cross-reference it with the RG-R data on file and see what comes up. This is beyond Ultra Top Secret."_

"Isn't everything?" Lucius quipped, but the hologram was already gone. The aging scientist retrieved the samples from the drone and didn't look back as it flew itself away, the balcony doors shutting themselves behind it.

* * *

Leave it to English Literature homework to distract oneself from greater woes. Danny and Tucker trudged all afternoon through their group project analyzing "The Pre-Raisins of Vexation," as Tucker insisted on calling the Steinbeck classic as a form of rebellious disrespect for the mandatory assignment.

"If I have to overthink one more line of what's essentially filler text, I'm going to kill myself the rest of the way," Danny guaranteed from his sprawled position on the floor.

"I've developed a twitch every time I read the name 'Joad,' " Tucker said.

" _Oh, quit being so melodramatic,"_  Sam groaned. Her Skype window's auto-exposure accounted for her returning to her desk.  _"Besides, at least you guys finished the whole thing today. Trying to make any progress with Kwan is like getting a mental root canal."_

"Now who's melodramatic?" Danny retorted. He sighed. "I guess I'd better walk home. I'm already gonna be late for dinner."

"Why not just fly?"

"Mom amped up the sensors again. She's been kinda paranoid and… _weird_  lately," Danny explained. He righted himself and stretched. "I'd better just walk unless I want to be ambushed on my way home."

"Alright, see you later, Danny."

"See ya."

"Bye," Sam called.

Danny instantly knew something was wrong the second he walked out Tucker's front door. The street was quiet. He took an appraising look around and decided to just start on his way. He only made it past a few houses, however, before a group made their presence known.

"Hey, look, it's Richard Grayson!" Dash called mockingly. A group of A-Listers from the football team instantly surrounded Danny. "Oh, just kidding. It's his twin, Dick *Gayson!*"

Danny glared at the blond's evil cackle. "Come on, that's not even creative, Dash."

The bully feigned offense. "That hurts, Fenton. In fact, it's making me feel a little spiteful for how stupid you made us look at the soirée yesterday." Dash's grin induced fear.

"Oh…"

Dash leaned in close, his group of cronies hovering threateningly. "I'll give you a head start, Photocopy."

"Ahaha…." Danny laughed nervously, then ducked between Kwan and the linebacker before sprinting away at full speed.

Danny turned at the first alley. He lost his footing on some loose newspapers and tumbled to the ground. Slightly panicked, Danny scrambled to regain his footing and took off once more. It wasn't three seconds later when his breath swirled with an icy mist. Danny immediately looked around. "Oh, come on, not now!" he whined.

* * *

"Fenton just turned up the alley," Robin whispered. "The football players are right on him. Huh, looks like he dropped something…"

" _Can you see what it is?"_  Kid Flash replied over their comms device.

"Not from here. I'll wait for them to pass. Are you ready to tail?"

" _Yeah. Fenton's headed right this way anyway."_

"Good." The football players stampeded past. "Clear. I'll go see what he dropped." Robin rappelled down the side of his chosen perch and darted over to the black object on the ground; it was Danny's wallet.

_"Uh…hey, Rob?"_

"Yeah?"

" _This alley doesn't have another exit…does it?"_

Dick shot his grappling hook to the roof of another house. "No, why?"

" _There's no sign of Fenton."_

Dick paused upon landing at the top. "What?"

" _Just the jocks. Fenton's gone-HOLY CRAP!"_

"Have you been made?"

" _No! Phantom just flew by with, like, MILLIMETERS to spare, and now the jocks are chasing after him for an autograph."_

Robin rolled his eyes. "Alright, follow him instead. Twenty bucks says we won't find Fenton now anyway."

" _I'll take that bet. You DID see them both in the same place, after all."_

"I'm not convinced," Robin replied and began rummaging through the wallet for information. "You stay on Phantom; I'll check out the wallet and see where it takes me. Maybe even to Danny."

" _You got- Hey, babe. How you doin'?"_ Robin frowned when Kid Flash's voice turned sultry. _"Don't mind me, just busy…bein' a superhero and all."_

"Focus!" Robin barked. "Besides, you have a girlfriend!"

" _Right…sorry."_

The comms line went quiet. Robin continued to search through Danny's wallet until he found a business card for Axion Labs.

* * *

"Your guest has arrived, Mr. Masters."

"How very prompt," Vlad retorted without looking up from his computer.

Walt stepped aside to allow a man in a perfectly tailored suit to pass. Vlad pulled his gaze away from the screen. His frosty demeanor turned instantly hostile.

"Hello, Vladimir," the visitor greeted.

"Alexander Luthor. What a treat that you could drag yourself all the way out to this godforsaken backwater," Vlad growled. "Thank you, Walt, that will be all."

The assistant disappeared, shutting the door behind him. The room went into audial and visual isolation mode.

"You have been dabbling, Luthor," Vlad reprimanded. "I don't like dabbling."

"You haven't exactly been idle, have you, Vladimir?" Luthor retorted.

* * *

The afternoon golden hour came to a close as Robin stalked the perimeter of Axion Labs. His wrist computer ran a scan of the immediate environment. It detected an invisible electromagnetic energy field pulsating through the chain link fence. He smirked and scurried to a nondescript control box hidden in the brush.

Twenty seconds later, the energy field was disabled. Robin scrambled up a tree and sailed gracefully over the high fence. "Small-town security's a joke," he chuckled to himself.

* * *

_[PERIMETER DEFENSES DISABLED]_

Damon Gray sat up instantly. The notification only flashed for a moment since it wasn't processed as an alert. He harrumphed and typed in a command. When the exterior camera feeds opened on his screen, Damon scoured them for movement. All was quiet...

There! A blur, a shadow on the north lawn. It was definitely human but couldn't be identified at just a glance. The person's movements were swift, evasive, practiced.

"Hmmmm…" Damon muttered to himself and switched views. Sure enough, the figure somersaulted and flattened itself against the wall next to the rear door where the figure examined the entry keypad. Damon smiled. "Good luck getting past there, sweetheart." He reached for the button which would summon the security teams to converge on the location.

The room went dark before Damon could press the button. All of his Axion-bespoke systems were completely disabled and powered off. Damon jumped up and raced to the master control box. Before he could override the power loss, the entire security room rebooted as if nothing had happened. Damon, perplexed, returned to the screens and opened every single camera feed in the entire facility. It took a few minutes of watching the feeds closely, but he finally found the evidence he needed: a single distant moth crossing the screen in one of the hallways. It fluttered erratically towards the camera, until it disappeared.

And re-approached ten seconds later from its original position.

"Looped," he surmised and reached for the desk phone.

* * *

_RING RING_

Vlad's line of vision fell on the desk phone announcing an incoming call from the security office. He answered the phone with a growl, "What is it, Damon? I'm busy." There was a pause, then- "Let me have a look."

Vlad opened the incoming security feed on his computer screen and watched the fleeting footage of Axion's unannounced visitor. While a furrowed brow gave away his initial confusion, a small smile danced across Vlad's face once he realized who it was. "No, no, quite alright, I'll take care of it. Wait for further instruction." He hung up. "Well, Lex, it seems Cadmus' thorns are in everyone's sides now," he quipped and turned his screen to show just who was attempting to break into Axion.

Lex grinned ruefully. "Fortunately, we came prepared." Both men began contacting assistants. Once his call connected, Luthor simply said, "Nightwing."

* * *

Robin crept around another corner. The first underground level of Axion was virtually deserted. He continued searching below ground until he came to a storage room on sublevel three. Robin ducked inside and, much to his relief, found rows upon rows of filing cabinets. He began searching for archives relating to the past two and a half years.

Upon finding that fateful July file, Robin noticed a sudden drop in temperature and pressure change. He immediately stood and saw a tall stack of file boxes toppling from above the next row of cabinets. He gasped, but the stack buried him before he could get out of the way. Robin smacked his forehead against a drawer pull on the way down. A trickle of blood down his face was the last sensation he registered before blacking out.

* * *

Tracking Phantom down initially wasn't too difficult. Batman *borrowed*Fenton Works' satellite to track ecto-energetic activity around town to guide Kid Flash to him. It was not an easy job keeping up with the ghost boy, though; that much was certain. But for Kid Flash, it was far easier than the typical person. With infrared goggles and super-speed, it was merely a matter of not running into things while constantly watching the sky.

It all came to a head later that evening, though, when Phantom began battling a glowing green, talking panther near city hall.

' _Good GOD, that thing is snarky.'_

It seemed as if Phantom was getting nowhere, however, because the ghostly cat was just too quick on its feet and-

'… _since when is it a ninja?!'_

Kid Flash shook his head and saw an opening. The ninja dodged an attack from Phantom but left himself unstably perched on his back foot. KF darted in and swept his leg out from underneath him, sending the ghost tumbling to the ground. Before the visiting speedster could even get back to his feet, Phantom had trapped the aggressor inside his battered Fenton Thermos.

"Um…thanks," Phantom said uncertainly, landing next to Kid Flash. "Bertrand's always a pain."

"Happy to help!" Wally replied.

"What are you doing here in Amity? Haven't we had enough League visitors already?"

"Oh, y'know, I just like to lend a helping hand wherever I can."

"So I suppose this has nothing to do with Robin's interest in Danny Fenton?"

KF paled.

"Thought so," Phantom sighed. "Look, is there anything I can do to help you believe Fenton's not a player in whatever game you're playing?"

"Yeah, you know anything about Axion?"

"Apart from the fact that it's run by the devil incarnate? Not much. Why?"

"Vlad Masters has known associations with Lex Luthor. Lex Luthor has known associations with illicit organizations. And Masters has a borderline creepy interest in Fenton. So Fenton obviously has something they're all interested in."

"Okay first of all," Phantom scoffed and crossed his arms, "did you use a trampoline to jump to that conclusion? And second, there is nothing 'borderline' about Masters' creepiness."

"Let's hope Robin finds proof, then, for Fenton's sake."

"Yeah." Phantom did a double-take. "Wait, what? Where is he now?"

KF looked in the general direction of the facility.

Phantom groaned. "Axion has some of the best defense systems in the country and a moderately-vengeful head of security-slash-tech genius at its control. All of it runs under Masters' direct supervision."

"Rob's one of the best hackers around. I'm sure he'll get in and out without too much trouble?" Kid Flash weakly suggested.

"Oh, yeah?" Phantom crossed his arms. "When did you last hear from him?"

"It's only been-" he checked his watch. "…Shit."

"How long?"

KF cringed. "Three hours and 26 minutes since last contact." He tapped the comm device in his ear. "Come in, Robin. Are you there? …Rob?" To Phantom he confirmed, "Nothing."

"Stupid bird brain. Alright, come with me. I know a secret way in."

"Thanks. Wait…how?"

"Long story short, the security director's daughter thinks Danny Fenton is cute and a good person to vent to. Now come on, we're burning moonlight!"

* * *

Before too long, the Axion facility loomed over the pair of heroes. Harsh orange lights illuminated the perimeter of the building while strobing red lights reflecting off a helicopter's blades outlined the landing pad on the roof. A few guards patrolled the grounds with muscular Rottweilers at their sides.

"Alright, look, this place has tons of visible and hidden defenses, including anti-ghost measures," Phantom said. "But I know it pretty well. So you're going to have to trust me, okay? Because the only security hole is underground."

"Ok, cool, that shouldn't be a problem," KF answered and bounced in place while shaking his arms to loosen up.

"No, I mean,  _literally_  underground. Like we will have to go through the dirt to get past it."

"Sure, man. Gimme a shovel and I'll super-speed-dig."

"That won't be necessary." A smug grin made its way onto Phantom's face. "Do me a favor and try not to scream."

"Wh-"

KF found himself cut off as Phantom grasped his upper arm. All color was erased from the world, leaving only ghostly blue-white outlines and details to remain. The pair of heroes sank into the earth and blasted effortlessly beneath the perimeter fence. Expanses of grass whipped by overhead until they passed through a thick concrete foundation deep within the bowels of the basement. Phantom slowed them to a halt until they were gracefully hovering above the ethereal linoleum floors of a forgotten janitor's closet. As soon as Phantom's grip on Wally's arm released, color and light and depth and  _realism_  returned to his surroundings, and the reappearance of gravity brought him thumping softly to the floor.

"What the hell was that?!" KF whispered harshly.

"This place has layers and layers of invisible ghost shields, but they only enclose anything above-ground and inside the building," Phantom explained. "None of them penetrate beneath the surface. Valerie wouldn't shut up about that flaw for a  _month_  when she found out. ...A-apparently," he hastily tacked on to the end of his explanation. Phantom opened the door. "Now come on, we have to find Robin."

"Why don't you just keep us invisible the whole time and ghost us through the walls?"

"Uses a lot of my energy, and the cameras are full-spectrum anyway, so it wouldn't matter what wavelength we're at. Plus, Masters and the security head are both super-wary of ghosts, so any activity beyond my mere existence may trip the sensors, if our arrival hasn't done so already. Now, where would Robin be?"

"I dunno. He loves, like...research and data and whatever."

"Archives. Let's see, that's...sublevel three."

"How do you know that?!"

"Because I do. Let's go."

The two crept warily into the hallway and began searching. That is, they  _were_  searching until a security guard approached and Phantom made Kid Flash and himself invisible on instinct.

" _GHOST ACTIVITY DETECTED. AUTOMATIC LOCKDOWN INITIATED."_

Phantom cursed under his breath as soon as the computer finished its blaring announcement.

"Rob? Robin, come in,  _now!_ " KF practically begged of his communicator.

* * *

A single bright light.

Its brilliance assaulted Robin's eyes the moment he regained consciousness. Even his domino mask's automatic filters couldn't dim its strength enough. He felt heavy— _very_  heavy—and shifted uncomfortably.

Trapped.

He was trapped.  _That's_ why he was so heavy. But it wasn't shackles or anything. Something was piled on top of him. He felt like he should be  _doing_  something, like getting up, assessing his surroundings, making sure no one had found him. Yet his brain felt foggy, like merely remembering his own name was too much effort. Robin pressed his palms into his eyes and rubbed hard, wincing under the unrelenting throbbing of his headache. What  _happened?_

Robin finally dedicated some energy to shifting the weight holding him down. The rough cardboard items rubbed noisily against the fabric of his clothes, but they gave way without too much resistance. Once free, Robin pulled himself to a seated position, leaning against the row of cabinets for support. He let out a long breath from the surprising amount of effort it took to do so and began to think again.

' _What's- Why the hell am I here? I must've gotten one hell of a head trauma.'_ The events of the evening slowly came back to him, and the toppled pile of file boxes suddenly made sense. He opened a camera setting on his wrist computer to check his appearance…

…only to find no blood or signs of significant injury.

' _That's odd.'_ He shifted to a more comfortable position and felt a bulge in his chest pocket. A wallet; not his…

…probably.

He took out the ID and squinted at it, the lenses of his domino mask automatically scanning it for authenticity. It was definitely real, and it was definitely Danny Fenton's, and that was  _definitely_  Robin's face on it.

' _Fenton? No...that doesn't feel right.'_  He scrunched his face in concentration, hoping that more clarity would come. Eventually, it did. _'Oh, duh, I'm here investigating Fenton. Stupid head injury...'_

He shook his head to rid himself of any further confusion and put the wallet away for safe-keeping. It was then that his eyes fell onto an elastic rope-closed accordion folder resting on top of the file.

_JULY 2016_

"How convenient," Robin muttered to himself and gleefully picked it up. He spread his left hand's fingers apart and typed a command into the wrist computer. A laser-red matrix danced between the glove's digits and formed a single linear beam. He slowly passed it over the folder and glanced at the screen's progress bar.

_[Analyzing…Analyzing…304 Pages Successfully Scanned]_

Robin smirked and set the folder aside. He soon found August and September amongst the mess and scanned those as well. It was then that overhead red beacon lights came to life and his comm device crackled in his ear.

" _Rob? Robin, come in, now!"_

Robin frowned. "KF? Where are you? How long have I been out?"

_"Couple hours, maybe. We're in Axion. Where are YOU?"_

"Archives," Robin answered automatically and sprinted to the door. "Wait…'we'?"

" _Tell him to get his butt in gear and get out of there!"_  Robin heard his own voice order from the other end of the channel. The Gothamite shook his head at Wally aligning himself with the target.

" _Yeah, Phantom got me in. You've been out for hours, man! But, wait, we've got bigger problems. Phantom sort of set off an alarm and now every security guard in northern Ohio is chasing us!"_

" _Wasn't my fault!"_ Phantom whined in the distance.  _"That one guy showed up out of nowhere and I panicked!"_

" _Whatever, dude! Look, Rob, we're lost somewhere in the basement. Where are you?"_

Robin waited as a squad of guards stampeded by, heading towards the northeast. He opened the door as soon as their footsteps receded.

"Also basement. I downloaded schematics of the building when I hacked security, so I'm sending them to you now."

" _Got it,"_  KF confirmed.

"Good. Ok, I just tripped the sensors in the northeast end of the hallway, so that should open up the southwest stairs for us. Meet me there in one minute."

" _Copy."_

Another squad of guards burst from the elevators forty feet down from him. Robin smiled somewhat evilly and whipped his eskrima sticks from their harnesses.

"Make it two minutes."

He went to work.

* * *

Damon Gray's live feed of the chaos on sublevel three proved to be quite the spectacle. The black-haired intruder easily plowed through his highly-trained security force, and the garishly-dressed redhead's combat skills certainly weren't unimpressive. But there was one camera feed from which he couldn't look away: one cataloguing the presence of a ghost in his allegedly ghost-proof facility. Perhaps he should listen to Valerie's gripes after all.

Nothing, though, could compare to the well of emotion rising up within the single father when he finally identified the ghost. He had prepared, updated, renovated,  _theorized_  for years on ways to defeat the punk whose presence had threatened Gray's standing at Axion multiple times.

And it looked like today could be the day he one-upped Danny Phantom.

Another ecto-energy sensor tripped at the opposite end of the basement level. Damon tore his gaze from the monitors. Damon propped his elbows on the desk and interwove his fingers, thoughtfully resting his chin on his knuckles as he assessed the situation.

' _That's the opposite direction of Phantom's progress, sooooo…'_

He looked at a cyan-tinted holographic model of sublevel 3 with blue dots representing security personnel. All ghost shields integrated into the walls were active, meaning Phantom would need a footpath out just like a normal intruder.

And then Damon's eyes fell on something in the floor plan far from where the sensors had tripped.

" _Proceeding to the northeast corner, sir,"_  a team leader informed over their secure channel.

"Negative," Damon replied. "Redirect to the southwest stairs. I've got a hunch."

" _A hunch, sir?"_

"Just do it! I'll meet you there. Go, now!" Damon stood and rushed to his biometrically-secured weapons cabinet.

* * *

"Augh, ah, oh, god!" Phantom cried out and writhed on the floor in pain. An ecto-weapon charged above him.

"Did you think we wouldn't take precautions against overshadowing, ghost punk?" the security guard growled. He aimed his weapon at Phantom's chest.

Just as the rifle was about to release its first blast, Kid Flash flung Phantom into the air. As he arched upwards, KF elbowed the weapon out of the guard's hands in close range and, with a burst of super-speed, struck the guard's nose with the heel of his palm. The man cried out in pain and flew backwards from the force, leaving room for KF to catch Phantom and momentarily cradle him in his arms.

"You okay, dude?"

"I will be, as soon as you stop holding me like a hurt puppy," Phantom barked.

Kid Flash rolled his eyes and let Phantom drop to the floor. Phantom's flight kicked back in before he could land. "You're welcome," the speedster said in reply.

"Where's Robin?" Phantom asked.

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a single guard slammed into the wall from around the nearest corner. Robin emerged with a victorious smirk and eskrima sticks in hand. "We ditchin' this place or what?" he asked.

A door behind Phantom and Kid Flash burst open. "I'd say 'or what,' " a deep voice replied.

The trio of heroes turned around to face the latest obstacle: an infuriated Damon Gray. "Oh, come on," Phantom moaned. Two more squads of security came from either direction in the hallway, meaning they were surrounded with ghost shields preventing them from making an easy escape.

"Your unwanted and destruction-oriented visits are getting tiresome, Phantom," Gray said. He cocked a weapon of his own, a seemingly standard handgun, and raised it at them. "These are normal bullets with ectoplasmic cores. Your friends here will be hit for sure. But you? It hasn't been tested on ghosts yet, but being that it  _was_ developed under my personal supervision, you've gotta ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel lucky?' Well, do ya, ghost punk?"

"Okay, reign it back in, Eastwood," Phantom drawled. He raised his hands in surrender, and Robin and Kid Flash followed suit. "We haven't taken anything, so why don't you just put that gun down and we'll be on our merry way?"

Damon fired a warning shot into the ceiling.

"Okay, okay, cool it!" Kid Flash exclaimed. "We'll play nice, won't we Rob?"

"Of course we will!" Robin replied with a reassuring smile and repositioned his right hand into a thumbs up. The smile fell into a cocky grin, and he curled in his thumb, pressing a hidden trigger in the structure of his glove.

A string of nondestructive explosions went off in the direction from which Robin had come. The Axion staff crouched down on instinct, including Damon. Phantom used the opportunity to jump Mr. Gray and nab his gun. Kid Flash then bolted up the stairs while Phantom grabbed Robin and carried him up through the air. Within seconds, they were outside and phasing through the ground under the fence, leaving a chaotic Axion in the wake of their escape.

* * *

It really should not have been a surprise. At this point, everything in her screamed something was off about Danny. It had been—though much more silently—since the minute he was released from ICU after the stillbirth scare. But years of therapy, years of denial, years of unconditionally doting on Danny as her son had all but silenced those thoughts. Until…

_[FAMILIAL MATCH NEGATIVE. BEGIN SEQUENCING OF CONTROL SAMPLE CODE 'Fenton_Daniel-James_Kindergarten'? Yes/No]_

The front door slamming startled Maddie, and her 'World's Best Mom' mug of tea slipped from her grasped. She helplessly watched the mug—and the sentiment—shatter to pieces.

" _Mom, I'm home from Tucker's!"_ 'Danny' called from upstairs.

Maddie turned back to the computer screen.

_[FAMILIAL MATCH NEGATIVE. BEGIN SEQUENCING OF CONTROL SAMPLE CODE 'Fenton_Daniel-James_Kindergarten'? Yes/No]_

_[Yes]_

_[SEQUENCING INITIATED. PROGRESS 0%]_

"Coming, sweetie!" she called.

* * *

It was a crowded street; nothing special, but nothing like home. The girl could barely understand two words of French but thought she could learn it within a couple months by just *shadowing* the people of Paris. She wasn't quite sure what it was, but something deep inside her drew the girl to Île-de-la-Cité, almost as if the tiny island were a part missing from her soul.

She found herself in the Shakespeare and Company Café just across the river and, with broken French—"Je…uuuhhhh, 'jhay' voulais—no, voudrayz'?" " 'Voudrais.' " " _Voudrais_ …uuuunnnnneeeeee…cafe? Seel voo play?" " 'Je voudrais un café, s'il vous plaît?" "Yes, that." "Bien sûr, mademoiselle. And we do speak English, you know?" " _Now_  you tell me." —ordered a coffee. She slouched into a corner table and started people-watching out the window. It wasn't long before a newspaper stand just outside caught her eye with its display of  _Le Monde's_  latest headline:

' _Scandale chez Wayne: La découverte d'une seconde Richard Grayson'_

Most eye-catching for the girl, though, was the presence of a familiar face just below the text. Or rather, very nearly  _her_  face, were she a boy. She slowly set the empty coffee cup down and stood from her seat.

"What have you been up to, cuz?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This week's Easter eggs:
> 
> \- 1979 was the year Lucius Fox first appeared in the Batman comics, thus the reason why I gave him an office suite on the 79th floor.
> 
> \- Damon Gray's short monologue is a paraphrasing of Clint Eastwood's iconic quote from Dirty Harry.


	7. Smoke and Mirrors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's starting to feel like I introduce every chapter with some variant of "Oh man, what a chapter to write." But, oh, man, ...
> 
> ...What a chapter to write.
> 
> There's one scene in here which was rewritten no fewer than 5 times because sh*t's about to get real (as if it wasn't already). I wanted you, my precious readers, to walk away from this chapter having mentally or verbally shouted "WHAT the F**K" multiple times. Here's hoping I've succeeded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One reader recommended listening to the song Let It Lie by Common from the Smallfoot soundtrack, and I agree! Great song, very appropriate beat and vibe. I also think "Natural" by Imagine Dragons is a good one for this too. Here's a Youtube-generated Natural playlist.

After Maddie had quickly collected the shattered remains of her 'World's Best Mom' mug, she came into the kitchen and found Danny leaning back against the counter while messing around on his phone. He didn't appear to notice her entrance, and the scientist couldn't help but take advantage of the opportunity to closely observe him now that she knew. His build was lean, borderline skinny when he had been younger, but now he was starting to fill in with muscle in that desirable 'V'-shape; a shape which, in retrospect, Jack had never had. His hair was black and his eyes were blue like Jack's, yes, but that blue…so ice-cold, and the hair, rivaling the darkest raven's feathers. Danny's jaw and cheekbones were so much stronger than those of her side of the family yet not as dramatically chiseled as Jack's. And his voice…nothing at all like how Jack's had sounded when they met decades ago.

How she had been so blind, Maddie would never know. It was all so obvious now. The whole family had just accepted Danny's variance in physical traits as a genetic fluke. Come to think of it, they had 'just accepted' a lot about Danny in recent times…

"Hello, sweetie," Maddie cooed, as-yet unsure of how to best approach the situation until she had time to process. "How did the project go?"

"Ugh, it reeked," he answered, throwing his head back in exasperation. "But at least it's done now. Sam's almost done with her project too, so we're going to her house tomorrow to hang, if that's alright?"

"Sure, Danny, that's fine with me. As long as you've finished your work."

"Don't worry;  _The Grapes of Wrath_  has successfully taught me all about dehumanization and the *saving power of family and friendship,*" he said with a chuckle.

Maddie grimaced and changed the subject. "Did the Foleys feed you?"

"Yeah, Mrs. Foley made her famous meatloaf," Danny recounted with a fond smile.

"And did Tucker get a kick out of that costume?"

Danny faltered. "Costume?"

"Yeah…your Halloween costume," Maddie clarified in a tone suggesting he should know what she was talking about. "That Robin costume you were trying on this morning to see if it still fit?"

A blur of reactions crossed Danny's face. He finally settled on exaggerated realization. "Oh, right, the  _costume!_  I really think of it as more of a *uniform.* That's why I was so confused. Because…words," he finished lamely.

"Right," Maddie said. She clearly didn't believe him but didn't want to push the subject. She looked up and down his person and noticed it was nowhere to be found. "Where is it now?"

"I, uh, left it at Tucker's. He wanted it for cosplay or something, so I let him borrow it."

"That was nice of you," his mother said. "Well, you should head to bed now. It's getting late."

"Right. Good night, Mom."

"Good night, Danny!" She pulled him into a hug out of habit and frowned. He felt just like her son. He fit into her embrace just like her son. But then…he never *was* her son, was he?

As soon as Danny left the kitchen, Maddie turned to head back to the lab to finish cleaning her mess. But, listening to his footsteps recede upstairs and come to a halt in his room, she paused. Something just didn't feel right. Danny's Robin costume had slight padding in the muscles to compensate for his wiry frame. This morning, though…the fabric shifted just a little too realistically over his muscles in places where it would have appeared stiff and fake before.

Maddie instead sauntered to the storage room upstairs at the end of the hall. Years of family memories haunted that room, but there was only one box she cared about on this particular evening.

_HALLOWEEN - Box 2 - Old Costumes_

Somehow she wasn't surprised the tape seal wasn't broken. Maddie used her thumbnail to slice it apart and open the box. There, twisted amongst the other costumes and clearly untouched for some time, was that incriminatingly red, yellow and black costume. She scrunched her face in wonder.

* * *

Jazz' door was shut already, so Danny went straight to his room where his door sat slightly ajar. He pushed it open and dropped his backpack to the floor beside his desk. After flicking the switch on his desk lamp a few times, he realized it wouldn't turn on. Danny followed the cord to where the plug sat loose beside his power strip.

"Welcome home."

Danny jumped around and, in a defensive stance, visually swept the room. There, in the corner by the window…

A glint of light off the facial region immediately put Danny at ease, albeit thoroughly in annoyance. "Did you seriously unplug my lamp for the sake of a dramatic entrance?!" he whisper-shouted. "What the hell are you doing in my room? Returning whatever it is you probably  _stole_  earlier? What did you tell my mom?!"

"I'm not a burglar,  _Fenton_."

"That's not a denial,  _Robin,_ " Danny mocked.

"Actually, I came to return something I found out on the streets," the hero said and tossed something across the room.

Danny caught it easily. "My wallet?" he asked. "I didn't even know I lost it. Thanks, I guess. How did you find it? Wait…were you  _following_ me?!"

Both boys went still as statues when footsteps approached. The hallway outside creaked, but whoever it was—probably Danny's mother—kept going.

"You're welcome, by the way. Look, Fenton, you got into a top-secret Justice League campus using  _my_  credentials. That's not the sort of security slip-up we ignore, because we  _don't_  ignore  _anything._  I had to make sure you're not a supervillain or clone hell-bent on dismantling our team."

"Let it go, already! I have NO IDEA how I got in; you're overestimating me here. Now can you please leave me alone? It's been a long day."

"Oh, I think I *estimated* you just fine, but have it your way. I'm pretty beat, too. Gotta get back to the cave." Robin pulled something round from his pocket. "See you around, Fenton."

With a great flash, the hero's ninja smoke bombs clouded the air between Danny and Robin. Hearing Robin's ominous laugh dying through the vapor, Danny coughed and waved his hand around to clear the air around his face. A few seconds later, he could finally see again.

Only to find Robin still standing awkwardly across the room. Danny crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow in lieu of verbalizing his question.

"…Your window is stuck."

* * *

Considering the colossus of a debt Dick owed Wally for venturing into Axion to rescue him, he really should not be complaining. Yet, after all the emotional and psychological duress he'd endured this weekend, Wally insisted this be Dick's favor in return. How on Earth Wally had found time to develop a Nasty Burger habit, Dick would never know. Regardless, Dick probably owed his life to Wally, for this particular weekend and all the countless missions before, so the least he could do is make one final appearance in Amity as Richard Grayson to get him food, come what may.

"Hey, it's Grayson!" the blond jock called out from the corner booth as he stood and waved. "Remember me, Dash Baxter, from the party on Friday?"

' _Lightning Legs better appreciate this,'_  Dick growled in his mind while he plastered on a fake smile; naturally, Amity's A-listers would be at the Nasty Burger when he showed up. "Hey, Baxter! How could I forget?" he spoke jovially.

Dash slapped a hand onto his shoulder and steered him towards the table. "Come join us. We were just talking about you."

"Actually," Dick answered, flexibly twisting out of the athlete's grasp, "I gotta get some grub for us and run; our jet leaves in an hour. What's good here?"

"Oh! Pretty much anything, bro." Dash led him to the counter where an African-American girl waited disinterestedly. She perked, though, when she saw who was with Dash. "Hey, Val, can you hook up my buddy Dick up with something good?"

"Wait," she said. " _Dick?_  Like Dick Grayson?" She looked him up and down. "Oh. I could have sworn you were-"

"Don't even mention that twinkie's name; he's not worthy," Dash growled.

Valerie pursed her lips and quirked up an eyebrow.

"You're not the first person to confuse us," Dick said in an attempt to derail whatever conflict was brewing. "Soooo…food?"

"Right! Put it on my bill," Dash told Val.

"Thanks, Dash, but I can pay for it," Dick said.

"Are you kidding, bro?" Dash appeared somewhat indignant. "You're a guest in our town!"

Dick grinned inwardly. "Alright, but I gotta warn you: my friend has quite an appetite."

"You're saying this to a star quarterback, man! Don't worry about it," Dash insisted. "I'd get the Mighty Meaty burger. One of those usually fills me up."

"Okay," Dick said, turning to Val. "I'll take seventeen of those and 8 fries to go, please."

"What?!" Dash shouted just as Dick's phone buzzed with an alert.

"I told you, my friend Wally has a huge appetite," Dick explained with a smirk he couldn't help but emote. He read the alert on his phone screen, a message from his smart sunglasses disguised as a simple text message.

Glass:  _[Positive ID for Gray, Valerie, daughter of Gray, Damon, head of security at Axion Labs. Similar facial structure, vocal range, inflection, and stature to incomplete profile with working title 'Red Huntress.']_

Dick's smirk grew as he looked back up to Valerie.

"Alright, lemme go get my wallet," Dash grumbled and sulked away muttering something about 'this month's whole allowance.'

"Sorry about him," Val muttered once the jock was out of earshot and leaned conspiratorially over the counter. "I'd stay away from him if you know what's good for you. He and his cronies aren't very...real."

"Heh," Dick chuckled, recalling Red Huntress' earlier advice about Phantom. "Maybe we should send  _him_  to Belle Reve."

Valerie frowned at the familiarity of those words and looked Dick up and down. Fortunately, the jock returned before any dots could connect.

It took an agonizing twenty-five minutes to prepare his behemoth of an order without infuriating the other waiting customers, so Dick passed the time at the A-listers' table. He welcomed the brisk spring morning air once he was able to escape the snobby social-climbers, and he couldn't help but put some of that spring in his step as he walked back to the hotel where he, Bruce and Wally were staying. His thoughts turned pensive, though, as an armored Cadmus truck turned from the street leading to Axion Labs and rumbled past in the direction of the interstate.

* * *

Danny forwent his usual clever quip in favor of a yawn when he deposited Bertrand back into the portal on Sunday morning. Raiding Axion and helping rescue Robin from the clutches of Vladimir Masters had taken a lot out of him.

Not so much, though, that he didn't notice an alert on his mother's desktop:

_[FAMILIAL LINK NEGATIVE. CONTROL SAMPLE AND 'Fenton_Daniel-James_swab' MATCH NEGATIVE. FRATERNAL RELATION SUSPECTED. VERIFY? Yes/No]_

"Shit." Danny slammed his hands down on the worktop and read a little more carefully. There was a lot of technical data which flew over his head, but he was able to understand a sample of his DNA showed no link to his parents'. He straightened and rubbed his chin with one hand, looking about the lab for guidance on what to do.

The answer was simple, what he always did: cover his tracks.

_[DNA SEQUENCING RESULTS DELETED. RETURN TO HOME?]_

Danny left the computer on the homescreen, hopeful that he'd deleted the test in time. His mother was smart—too smart, in his opinion—and clearly she would remember having initiated the analysis; but, this would at least buy him a couple hours to figure out what to do. He would have to go to Sam's and ask Tucker to join them.

Just as the door to the lab shut behind Danny as he sprinted upstairs to get ready, the computer pinged with a new notification.

_[SEQUENCING SUCCESSFULLY BACKED UP TO SERVER LOCATION F:/analysis_biological/DNA/fenton/daniel_james]_

* * *

Sunday morning found Lucius in his private lab in Wayne Tech's Applied Sciences division. It only took two tests to successfully sequence the hair sample's DNA. It was a perfect match to the pattern on file for Richard Grayson/Robin. However, breaking down the mystery substance turned out to be a significantly more monumental task than Lucius had initially anticipated. This chemical compound, allegedly 'ectoplasm,' didn't match or resemble anything in Wayne Tech's databases. Nor did it in any way seem to relate to Richard Grayson's DNA.

It took some time before he noticed something: it appeared almost cellular. He focused even closer onto the contents and started seeing a very familiar ladder-like structure within. On a whim, he ran a small sample through a DNA sequencing machine with a slight modification to the settings to identify foreign molecules as well as the conventional aminos. Unsurprisingly, no typical amino  _acids_  were found.

But the four repeating  _alkalies?_

Lucius couldn't help but grin. It was clearly an undocumented form of DNA. He brought up Dick's sequencing and established the patterning of his aminos. He then brought up the sequencing results of the glowing green sample's alkalies.

It was a perfect inverse. What a beautiful spring Sunday indeed.

* * *

"I'm telling you, you guys, she's really suspicious! She's going to find out I'm officially not her son within a few hours,  _if_  that. Oh, new fun fact: I'm now officially  _not_  the real Danny Fenton! What are we gonna do?!" Danny bellowed.

"First thing you're going to do is unhand my favorite spider backpack," Sam threatened.

Danny looked down at the bag twisted within his grasp and sighed, tossing it onto Sam's bed.

"Good." Sam walked up and slapped her hands down on Danny's shoulders, holding him so they would be practically eye to eye. "And now, you're going to calm down and play a couple rounds of Doomed with us. It's out of our control now; there's nothing we can do at this point without making your mom any more certain than she would have been." She released his shoulders and stepped back. "It's a sucky fact, but your mom's going to find out you're not actually a Fenton, maybe more. We have to play dumb, because the last thing we need is your dad overreacting and shooting at you or something."

"He wouldn't do that," Danny assured in a moment of confidence. And then he hesitated. "Oh my god, Dad would totally do that. I'm doomed!"

"No! You're  _playing_  Doomed. Now.  _Go._ "

"Yeah, what she said," Tucker added and stood. "Man, all this is getting confusing. Someone seriously needs to stop messing with the timeline!"

Danny froze. Of course. Somebody  _had_  to have been screwing with the timeline. His eyes narrowed, and his teeth clenched. Danny growled with heavy accusation, "Clockwork…"

* * *

Maddie frowned, steam curling from her clinically white mug of tea. Why were the results not displayed outright? She sighed and opened the archived results of the DNA analysis.

' _Hmm…So *Danny* was never Danny, and THIS *Danny* isn't the *Danny* we've had all along…This isn't a problem, no big deal, just a biological mystery to solve…'_

She used every mental wall she could possibly build to avoid letting the panic attack sink in. If she lost control of herself now, she couldn't help this Danny, nor could she find out what happened to her real son. Something definitely happened at the start of Danny's life. Now it was a matter of deduction. She needed to take proactive steps, stay focused, find answers…

Bake. She definitely needed to bake something. Relieve the initial stress through therapeutic baking, and move forward with newfound clarity. One batch of cookies—Danny's favorite, to help soften the blow when she told him what she discovered—and then she'd get to work.

* * *

Maddie smiled and held up the successful batch of fudge. Baking: a science; the result is always predictable, it never surprises. Danny would positively love it, and it would help comfort him once he'd heard the news. Baking the fudge had allowed Maddie to ponder the situation and decide that she was not the kind of mother to hide the truth from her children. She would tell Danny as soon as he was home.

"Fudge! My favorite!" Jack bellowed as he entered the kitchen.

Maddie's smile fell to dejection. "Oh, no! It  _is_ your favorite! I forgot Danny doesn't like it as much as you do. What *is* his favorite goodie?" she asked herself.

Jack stole a large square from the platter. "Any special reason you want to make our boy's favorite?"

Maddie winced. "That's just it," she replied, hesitating. "I've been suspicious again lately, so I ran a DNA test and-"

"Now, now, Mads, you're forgetting all your visits with that therapist  _and_  those countless trips to visit that supportive florist friend of yours up in Gotham. I thought we were past this!"

Maddie slammed the platter of fudge onto the counter, one or two pieces jostling onto the work surface. "It came back negative, Jack," she snapped. "I  _wasn't_  crazy. There's a boy about to come home from a nice, relaxing afternoon of video games with his friends, and I have to tell him he's not our son." She softened and ran a finger lovingly along the platter's edge. "Well…not our biological son, anyway."

"Wha-" Jack sputtered and dropped his fudge square to the floor. "Y—you can't be serious."

"I've never been more serious in my whole goddamned life, Jack. I ran multiple tests to be sure. Neither the sample I collected yesterday  _nor_  the control samples we keep in cryo-storage matched our family's DNA in any measurable way."

"Sufferin' spooks," Jack breathed and sat heavily in a chair.

"It took a few attempts too. Oh, and get this, Mr. Expert Ecto-Scientist: his DNA is  _riddled_ with ectoplasmic residue!" she barked. "No biohazard, my ass. I'm surprised he doesn't glow in the dark with the amount of ectoplasm permeating this whole house!"

"But…how?"

"I don't know, Jack. We'll have to talk to him and find out how much time he's spending in the lab." She clicked her tongue and shook her head. "Lord knows this explains why our equipment is always targeting him: he practically  _radiates_  the stuff. I'm going to have to run countless tests to find out how extensive the contamination is."

Jack let out a deep breath. "None of this makes sense," he said.

"You haven't even heard all of it," Maddie answered and sat across from him. "His current DNA doesn't match the sample from when he was in kindergarten."

"Didn't you once say everyone's DNA mutates over time?"

"Not to this extent. He's practically an entirely different person from before."

Realization slowly dawned on Jack's face. At a speed so slow it had to be unconscious, he sat up in his chair. "An entirely different person," he parroted.

Maddie met his ever-crazing gaze. "Jack, no," she warned. "We are not discussing this again."

"Think about it, Mads!" he said. "No DNA match, entirely different person, sudden behavioral changes…that is  _not_  our son. He's-"

"What? A clone?" Maddie quipped.

"A  _ghost_ clone!"

"No! That is crazy!"

"Any crazier than believing your newborn baby wasn't your son when no one would believe you?"

His wife glowered. "You are  _not_  attacking or threatening him in any way until we know more. Am I understood?"

Jack frowned.

* * *

"Clockwork?"

Phantom's voice echoed through the cavernous rooms of the castle.

"Clockwork, I know you're here. You're literally everywhere all the time like a…god or something," Danny called. Nothing. He floated apprehensively through the halls until he came to the observation room, the largest in the lair.

The room was vacant, as expected, but a scene was playing silently on the screens. It was a hospital, Phantom realized, after a few moments of watching the colorfully uniformed bustle in the halls. He glided closer to one screen before re-materializing his legs and standing before it. The screen magically focused on a form in a passing nurse's hand and paused the playback, allowing the teen a glance of the heading on the top page.

L'Hôpital Hôtel Dieu, Paris. Wednesday, March 20, 2002.

Phantom's lips parted slightly. He knew that hospital. He knew that  _date_. It was has birthdate and location, after all.

Playback continued.

The 'camera' seemed to follow the nurse into a room labeled "NICU - Neonatal Intensive Care Unit." Inside, three babies lay inside two plexiglass-domed isolettes with a host of machines monitoring them. The two babies in the shared bed wore a red and a yellow beanie, respectively. The baby lying alone in the far bed wore a blue beanie. Two nurses and a doctor crowded around the shared bed, the atmosphere thickening with solemnity as they tried desperately to revive the baby in yellow. It didn't take long for Phantom to recognize the beanies. Lord knows how many times he'd seen it in photos from the day of his birth; it was one of his mother's favorite stories to tell, a story of suspense and near-heartbreak. But for the life of him, in this moment of heightened emotion, he couldn't remember what color his beanie had been in those photos. Hadn't it been blue?

The nurse seeming to be the camera's primary subject gave her clipboard one final glimpse before hanging it from the shared isolette next to another. With steadicam-like grace, Phantom's viewing screen arced past the beds, revealing the name 'Grayson' at the tops of the clipboards on the shared bed and 'Fenton' at the top of the one hanging from the baby in blue's isolette.

...Why were there _two_  babies in the Grayson bed?

One of the Graysons—the one in yellow—laid perfectly still apart from the nurses' tenuous movements in their attempt to revive him. Phantom couldn't hope to breathe as his chest tightened with apprehension. Unfortunately, after minutes of hurried orders and panicked movements, the nurses finally accepted their efforts were futile. One of the Grayson babies was no more.

The camera then repositioned to observe all three babies from the corner as the tension in the scene gradually bled out, allowing dejection to take root instead. The staff was slow to clean as they set aside instruments and medicines. After they gently separated the twins as much as could be done in the small bed, they took their leave through the opposite door in search of doctors and families. Only a steady beeping from one of the shared isolette's EKG machines broke the poignant silence.

Phantom frowned and sat down on a chair which may or may not have been there before, but it didn't matter at the moment. Onscreen, he was alive and well, apart from being in the NICU. So what-?

Suddenly, there was an odd squawk of a noise from just off-screen, and electricity arced between the isolettes. Eyes widening in shock, Phantom sat up ramrod-straight on the chair. On-screen Fenton's heartbeat flatlined while the shared crib's silent EKG heralded the return of a pulse. Another electrical arc—this one larger than the last—temporarily shut down all systems and lights in the room from the sudden influx of energy. Phantom gaped seconds later as the EKG's jumped back to life, signaling Fenton's heart beating rapidly while the other crib's machines  _both_  flatlined once more.

At this point, the wood of the chair nearly splintered from the intensity of Phantom's grasp. The omnipotent camera panned around the hospital staff stampeding back into the room. As they tried to manage the situation, some staff trying to save the second Grayson and others supporting Fenton with his skyrocketing heart rate, the camera temporarily landed on the flatlining Grayson's beanie. Almost divinely, the lights in the room turned back on.

Blue.

Why was the dying Grayson's beanie blue? Hadn't it been red? Had Fenton's always been red? Was it red in the family photos from that day? Good God…had Fenton and one of the Graysons' beanies swapped colors? He couldn't be sure.

It didn't take long for Phantom's panic to subvert his thought. He now *was* sure. His mind erased any doubt in favor of finally having an explanation of what had happened. He is not to be blamed; it had been a week and two weekends of turmoil and deviance from the already precarious secret-superhero norm with which he was intimately familiar. Never mind the fact that both 'Graysons' were apparently dead, because whatever his beanie's color may have been in the photos at home. Phantom knew what he saw; it was plain as day now: Deceased baby Fenton and electrical-shock-revived baby Grayson had been mysteriously switched amidst the chaos of a temporarily powerless NICU. He could only wonder what caused the arc of electricity between the isolettes and whether it was circumstantial or directly related to the apparent switch.

Phantom stood and backed tentatively from the screen. He tripped backwards over the chair, tumbling to his behind and crawling backwards while unable to tear his eyes away. Grayson in red, Fenton in blue, now Grayson in blue, Fenton in red, Grayson in blue, Fenton in red, Fenton in red, Fenton in red...

He sprinted from the hall, forgetting completely about his ability to fly until he reached the edge of the lair.

Clockwork couldn't help but sigh to himself in despair. He hated the deception; he almost wished that—despite already knowing would happen, and what would come to pass as a result—things could turn out differently. He wished Phantom had stayed to watch another few minutes of playback or perhaps arrived slightly earlier to see what had transpired in the moments prior to Phantom's arrival in the present. Because he knew very well that the color of baby Fenton's beanie in the 'Paris 2002' photo album was, in fact, blue.

* * *

Danny resurfaced in the alleyway beside Fenton Works. Nerves comprehensively frayed, his breath shuddered erratically as he pressed back against the wall. Danny glanced to and fro looking at everything and nothing. Both hands ran through his tousled locks of jet black hair, jet black hair which was  _not_ Danny Fenton's. It was… _Grayson's._ He couldn't manage to stay up for long. What even  _was_ up? Directions are purely based on one's own position on a spherical object in the vast expanses of space. Danny would know; he wanted to be an astronaut. Well, Danny, James,  _whoever_  he was wanted to be an astronaut.

Why was he thinking about his insignificance in relation to the entire universe at a time like this? It didn't matter if Danny  _did_ accept human-assigned directions as absolute, because no matter what word described it, he couldn't tell which way would be 'up' anyway, nor could he remain standing 'up' or whatever word could be used to best describe it. He collapsed to the ground.

"Holy shit holy shit holy shit holy shit holy-"

A buzz from his pocket stopped the assault of language unsuitable for children's ears. It was a text delivered to his cell phone now that it was back on the mortal plane and communicating with the nearest tower.

Sam:  _Let me know when you're back. We want to hear what happened._

Still hyperventilating, Danny immediately dialed her number.

" _Hello?"_  came her greeting after only one and a half rings.

"I'm not Danny Fenton. I went to Clockwork's, he wasn't there, but the hospital was playing and I saw myself get switched with Grayson like  _on screen_ , and oh my god should you call me James Grayson now? I can't breathe I cant take this anymore Sam I  _can't_."

" _Okay, Danny? Breathe for me. Breathe, in for one-two-three-four-five-six-hold…hold…hold…and exhale one-two-three-four-five-six-seven-eight. And in one-two-three-"_ This continued for a few moments until Danny had somewhat normalized. " _I can't believe Grandpa Time wasn't there,"_  Sam commented drily.

"I know what I saw, Sam," Danny asserted, weary from the fading panic. "I didn't need to hear whatever temporal crap he has to say. We can never get a straight answer out of him anyway."

" _Alright, well…"_  Sam faltered.  _"Just play it cool. Your mom is suspicious enough as it is. Besides, you can't exactly explain how you found this out without giving *everything* away."_

"We might as well, at this point," Danny answered defeatedly. "Everything's going to fall apart in a couple hours anyway."

" _Just come on over, relax for a bit, grab your stuff and head home to take a nap. You're not sounding too good. I'll update Jazz so you don't have to worry about it."_

"Alright." Danny released a deep sigh. "I'll be there in a few."

* * *

Despite Sam and Tucker's coaching and encouragement all afternoon, the front door never looked so intimidating. Its wooden framed towered above, like the gates to an impenetrable fortress. 'Fenton Works'…even the name on the neon sign was mocking him. Danny took one last deep breath before unlocking and opening the door. Praying that his mother hadn't gotten the test results yet, he inched his way into the kitchen where he heard some movement.

"Hey, Mom, is Jazz home?" he greeted.

"Hi, Danny, my beautiful, sweet baby boy… No, she's studying at a friend's."

With the back of a chair in his grasp, Danny finally took in his surroundings. His mother, devoid of her usual high spirits, sat anxiously at the other end of the table. Her hair was subtly disheveled, not so much it was distracting but too much so to escape Danny's notice. Platters of fudge and cookies covered every square inch of table and countertop in the room. A huge pile of pots and mixing bowls filled the sink and buried the stove.

Desperately trying to maintain his oblivious facçade, Danny squinted in suspicion and uneasily sat down in his chair. "How was your day?"

"Oh it was awful, Danny. I couldn't remember which kind of cookie was your favorite so I just made—well— _all_  of them…" she answered sadly.

Alarm bells. Loud, cacophonous alarm bells rang in Danny's head.

' _She knows already.'_

"Um…thanks?" he said. Danny gulped in a superfluous attempt to settle his nerves. "Are there any caramel apple doodles?"

Maddie's visage momentarily brightened. "Yes! Right here." She passed a platter across the table then sobered once again. Maddie struggled to meet Danny's gaze. "Um…sweetie, there's something I need to tell you. Though based on your behavior the past few days," she added with hesitation, "part of me thinks you already know what I have to say…"

Danny's head bowed. He set the tray down in his lap and stared at the cookies. For a moment, he debated whether to play dumb. But the time for feigning innocence was long gone. The situation had changed, come what may.

"I'm not your son," he managed to whisper, eyes scrunched tightly shut in emotional pain. Admitting it out loud to someone outside his circle of trust...where was Sam's advice when his brain needed to remember it?

"Danny, there's one thing I want you to remember," Maddie said. She stood, chair scraping against the tile floor, and came to sit next to Danny. She took his hands in hers and looked deliberately into his eyes. "You may not be our biological son—and Lord knows this is a shock to me—but you will always be our  _son_."

"A-am I, though?" he said. "No one knows who I am, no one knows where I came from…. We've all been faking it for years and didn't even know!"

"Our love for you could never be faked, Danny." Maddie laid a comforting hand on Danny's clenched fists.

"Me neither," Danny begrudgingly admitted without making eye contact. "How did you figure it out?"

"You should know; you found the DNA test results."

"W-what? But I- But it-  _Noooo_ …" he tried to deny.

"Come on, Danny; I'm not naïve. The test results were deleted, but the backup had finished beforehand. And it didn't take much searching through the security footage from this morning to find you."

" _Thesecurityfootage…_ " he exhaled breathily. "You mean—"

"We've had cameras in the lab for years, Danny. Just never had a reason to look through the footage before."

"Security cameras." Danny gulped. "Great."

"But Danny, I want to promise to you we're going to get to the bottom of this. I won't rest until we find out who- who you were…supposed to be."

Danny merely nodded.

"Something else was odd, though; a couple things, actually," Maddie continued as she took a cookie for herself and joined Danny in staring off into space. "I took a swab from your water glass from Friday evening and compared it with the DNA sequences we have in our archives for biometrics in the lab."

' _Oh no…please don't say ectoplasm, please don't say ectoplasm, PLEASE DON'T SAY ECTOPLASM-'_

"They didn't match."

Record scratch, freeze-frame, shattering glass. "W-what?" he asked breathily.

"Well, after I isolated the DNA—we'll come back to that—I found your DNA now doesn't match up with what it was when you were a kid. Everyone's DNA micro-mutates over time, but yours has changed more than normal given the amount of time between samples. It's like-"

"-I'm an entirely different person," he finished. Danny juddered to his feet and began backing away from his mom, inching his way towards the stairs as he descended into panic once more. He had suspected a relation to Robin-slash-Dick; he had virtually confirmed it at Clockwork's. But to find evidence in support of their worst fears… "N-no, that's—that's wrong. I can't be- I'm not- Because then our theory-"

Danny's thoughts rapidly devolved into hyperventilation.

' _CLONE.'_

Maddie stood and held out her hands almost defensively. "Danny, honey, I need you to stay calm. I know I've had more time than you to process, but you need to keep a level head, okay? Because there's more I need to tell you."

His glacial blue eyes locked onto her completely unrelated violet ones. "It's the ectoplasm, isn't it?" Danny cried through the beginnings of tears. "Oh, god, this is happening…"

"Yes, it's—wait, how did you know that?" Maddie asked.

Danny shook his head. "No, no, I can't do this now, I can't do-" He gasped. "You didn't tell Dad, did you? About the ectoplasm?"

"Of course I did!" she said. "We both care about you. Your health is at risk here."

"No. No! Dad's totally going to freak out!" Danny roughly gripped her shoulders in desperation. "Don't you see? He's going to think I'm a-"

"Ghost!" Jack barked from the kitchen doorway, massive gun in hand. "Unhand my wife."

Danny's eyes couldn't have been wider. With his mouth slightly agape, Danny crept backwards up one stair…two…three… "D-Dad?"

"Only my  _son_  gets to call me that," Jack growled. He raised his gun and aimed.

Danny flinched at a sudden clattering noise. He identified it as the cookies jumping around the platter still surprisingly in his grasp. Danny desperately tried to stop his shaking hands only to find his nerves couldn't cope with the panic overtaking his mind. "I didn't know, I still don't-"

"Don't try me, mister! I spent all day trying to figure this out in that lab—the one I started to protect  _my_  family—and I'm not in the mood for any more confusion. Just give it to me straight: Who are you and what did you do with my  _real_ son?"

"Jack! Stop this at once!" Maddie ordered. "Can't you see he's panicking? That he doesn't know either?"

"No, Maddie! This kid's DNA doesn't match ours, and he has copious amounts of ectoplasm bonded to his DNA. So either it's taken over some poor sap's body or it found a way to mimic a real body!  _START TALKING, ECTOPLASMIC SCUM!_ "

Danny began hyperventilating. "Bu-bu-but I don'-I didn't want to- I mean, this-this isn't the way! No, we can't do this now, I'm not ready!" he blubbered. "Please, just gimme a chance to think and to get Tuck and Sam over here to help!"

"Jack, calm down!" Maddie begged.

"NO!" Jack barked. "Just look at his eyes, Maddie! If you needed any proof he's not who we thought he is, the evidence is literally staring us in the face!"

Maddie did look, and she gasped. Danny looked at his reflection in the polished surface of the platter and saw his eyes were indeed glowing. He slammed them shut and suppressed the ecto-energy flaring in self-defense.

"Years ago, we thought it was Jazz who had been replaced with a ghost. Turns out it was our Danny all along! What are you?!"

Chaos.

Flying. Flying. Flying. Instinctively, Danny tossed the tray forwards and sent the cookies careening through the air. The boy used the distraction to leap over the banister, sailing over the television and away from his position trapped on the staircase. As his torso cleared the banister, the front door banged open, startling Jack. A single ecto-blast sizzled through the air past Maddie and caught Danny in his right oblique.

Tumbling. Tumbling. Tumbling. Disintegrating cookies rained down on the Fenton parents. Their forearms came up to shield their faces from the crumbs. Danny curled into a ball from the instantaneous pain, using the force from the blast to help him somersault onto the coffee table, smashing it to smithereens. A haunting scream emanated from Jazz who stood in the open doorway.

In a flash, Danny hurdled to his feet and sprinted past Jazz with a hand clutching his bloody side. Cookie crumbs pitter-pattered against the entryway tile around the Fenton parents. The two adults were right on Danny's heels, darting around their petrified daughter as soon as they'd recovered from the barrage of baked goods. Danny slammed the door in their faces, but Jack and Maddie whipped it open instantly.

Only to find an empty stoop. Danny had literally disappeared.

"Where did he go?" Jack asked weakly. Maddie wheeled on him and punched his arm hard.

"What is going on?!" Jazz demanded.

"What were you thinking?! PULLING A GUN ON OUR OWN SON?!" Maddie asked, ignoring her daughter in favor of shouting at her husband.

"That's not our son!" Jack insisted.

"So you  _SHOT HIM?!_ "

"I thought he was going on the attack!"

"Why would he attack us?! We raised him!"

"Or did we! Danny's been acting strange ever since the accident when he got the portal working! What if a ghost came through, stole his body and is sucking it dry like a protoplasmic parasite?"

Maddie stilled and blinked once. Twice. A deep, slow, deliberate breath. She reached for her husband's collar and pulled him down to her eye-level. A protective mother's glare narrowed her eyes to slits. "Jack Fenton, you listen to me, and you listen good," she growled. "Until further notice, that boy is our son, and he's just run away because he's hurting emotionally and  _you shot him!_  Pull yourself together so we can go find our boy.

"Now get in the  _FUCKING_  CAR!" she finished in a shout.

Maddie waited a moment until she was sure the fear had been set into him. She released his jumpsuit from her grasp and stormed inside to get her keys. Stunned, Jack shuddered and sulked to the RV. Jazz surreptitiously took out her phone and sent a rushed text to Sam and Tucker.

* * *

A couple blocks away, Danny finally released his invisibility in a house's shadow. He slammed back against the wall and slid to the ground, a very common position for him on this day. Danny withdrew his right palm from his side and held it in front of him to stare at the blood. His breaths quickened even more as he descended further and further into shock. His eyes darted around, taking in his surroundings, looking for any sign of a threat.

_RING RING_

Danny spasmed. It was only his phone.

_RING RING_

He awkwardly reached across his body with his left hand and pulled his phone out of his right pocket. It was only his friend. He answered, "Sam-"

" _WHATHAPPENEDTELLMENOW."_

"I-" His breath hitched in pain. Danny pulled his hand away from his side and looked at the faintly glowing blood. "I'm next to, uh—a house. I don't know whose house, I don't know where. I just ran until I couldn't stay invisible anymore. She didn't just test my DNA against the family's; she tested it against a sample she took when I was a kid and—and it doesn't match. I'm not the same me, Sam. I don't know what's going on…"

" _Shit."_

"And, big surprise, Mom found ectoplasm in my blood when they tested it. I freaked, and Dad shot me, and then I ran."

" _Your dad SHOT you?! Like…he didn't miss?"_

"Yeah, it was point blank. I th-" He hissed and leaned back against a wall. "I think it was an accident, though. Holy  _crap_  what did Dad—Jack—Dad—*Jack* do to that gun?"

" _He's still your dad, Danny, remember that. I'm sure it was an accident, okay? And whatever he said, emotions were high-"_

"You didn't see the look on his face, Sam," he said. "It was like I had ripped out his heart and now he was out for blood. He-he thinks I did something to the *real* Danny! At least Mom was trying to keep it under control…" He heard a door slam on the other end of the line. "What are you doing?"

" _Coming to find you, doofus. I just left. Where are you?"_

"No, Sam, I need to-"

" _WHERE."_

"Couple blocks from the house. I—I was heading to your house anyway…"

" _Good. Although we'll have to figure things out once you're bandaged. My house and Tucker's will be the first places they look. How badly are you bleeding?"_

"It-" He looked down and threw his head back against the wall in frustration. "It's pretty bad."

" _Don't worry, I'm on my-"_

"Why, if it isn't my favorite freak!"

Danny froze in place at the sound of the sweet voice. "Oh, no…" he whispered into the phone and slowly looked at the materializing, feminine figure. "Spectra…"

" _No! I knew Bertrand showing up was a bad sign. Don't listen to her, Danny! Just get away from her!"_  Panting and stampeding footsteps interrupted her speech.

"Oh, dear, that looks like a nasty scrape! Someone I know?" she asked in faux concern.

"Jus' go 'way, Spettra," Danny slurred, suddenly feeling woozy. " 'mnot gonna lissen t'you."

"Oh, but you already are, sweetie," she cooed. "That looks almost like a gunshot." Spectra gasped. "No! Did someone  _shoot_  you even in human form? Did somebody find out your little  _*secret*?"_

" _Danny, please, don't listen to her! Don't say anything!"_ Sam begged between pants of breath.  _"I'll be there as soon as I can!"_

"That sort of burn looks just like what a Fenton weapon makes, doesn't it?" she continued unabashed. Spectra gently ran her fingertips around the wound and grinned as green energy seeped out. "Mmmmmm, I do believe I've hit it on the nose, haven't I?"

"…Acciden'," Danny managed. "Scared 'em."

"Well, of course you scared them! Their own son turning out to be a half-ghost weirdo? My goodness, I'm surprised they didn't get a better shot in! What caused them to finally snap?"

Danny winced. "Complicated."

" _Danny, stop talking!"_  Sam shouted on the phone.

"You're not going to make me play 20 questions, are you?" Spectra laughed. "Oh, well, I suppose guessing is half the fun. Now why would your own parents reject you? Tell me, Danny, how does it feel to not be wanted? How does it feel to have no one to turn to for shelter in the entire town? After all, your parents are  _very_  persistent, bless their hearts. They will hunt you down, they will find you, and they will tear you to bits, molecule…by… _molecule_ …"

The last words were but a whisper, but they stung with full force. Danny curled in on himself.  _'Don't listen to her, it's not true, well it's not REALLY true, you just need to heal and then talk it all out with your parents and find out why they didn't know you aren't even their son and you'll have to leave Amity, there's nowhere here you can hide, there's no one who can help-_

' _No one in AMITY who can help…'_

The boy sniffed. "I know what I have to do," Danny spoke in a moment of clarity. Puffy-eyed and bloody, he looked up at Spectra with mouth agape.

" _What? Danny-"_ Sam began.

"What? No, that's-" Spectra's cocky glint died as Danny searched her eyes for… _something_. "No! I wasn't trying to help. Go back to wallowing!"

"Too late." Danny unsteadily rose and let his phone fall aside.

" _Danny? Danny! What are you doing?! Talk to me!"_

"Goodbye, Spectra." Danny transformed and rocketed off into the air.

"No! Come back, you miserable little AAAUUUUGGGHHH!" Spectra cried out as an ecto-blast hit her. She looked and saw Sam fuming a few steps away. "You."

"What did you do?" Sam asked threateningly, wrist ray aimed and charged.

"Apparently, I actually helped the sad little twerp," the ghost spat back and crossed her arms. "You're welcome."

Sam sucked her into a thermos.

"Thanks."

Sam ran over and found Danny's forgotten phone still connected to her call. She gently picked it up and looked to the sky. "Be careful, Danny," she cautioned quietly to thin air and clutched the phone to her chest.

The Fenton Family Ghost Assault Vehicle barreled past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This week's Easter Egg: The 'overestimate-estimate' wordplay is a subtle nod to one of Michael Scott's best lines on The Office.
> 
> Clarification: I thought I would provide a tiny bit of clarification for the hospital scene, though it will be minimal since it is meant to be confusing to some extent. At the start, the Fenton baby is in blue and the Graysons are in yellow and red, yellow having passed away already. At the end of the part Phantom observes, Fenton is in red and the Graysons are in yellow and blue.


	8. Paraffin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter's recommended soundtrack: Monolink's live set at Fusion Festival 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPeIIvEti8g&feature=

The janitor walking his dog.

That was all it took: Casper High's chief custodian, Phil, walking his Scottish terrier by Fenton Works on Sunday evening. Most of Amity Park knew about a kerfuffle at the Fenton house already; the Fentons were anything but stealthy, and their neighbors were anything but tight-lipped when it came to the insanity of the ghost hunting family. But the janitor's placement was opportune for fueling gossip: he was rounding the side of their house and passed just beneath the living room side window when a bright blast momentarily flattened the shadows of the curtains, a frightening scream simultaneously tearing through the early spring evening. Phil flattened himself against the brick, dog clutched protectively to his chest, until he heard the door slam and reopen immediately, followed by the sounds of the parents arguing.

" _-ow get in the FUCKING CAR!"_ he overheard Maddie shout. The jarred man finally peeked around the corner to see a virtually empty street. Within moments, the pair were roaring off in their monstrous family car, desperately shouting their son's name over the loudspeaker.

That small little tidbit—an ecto-gunshot and blood-curdling scream—was the paraffin for the flames. The Casper High librarian had already heard about a fight and subsequent search involving the youngest Fenton. So when the janitor came in to share the involvement of weaponry to get a load of worry off his chest—read: flirt with the librarian by providing juicy gossip—that was all it took. Because she herself was not one to gossip with the students; but her _T.A._ on the other hand—that cunning, semi-popular teacher's assistant who helped in the library before school hours— _she_ was perfectly happy gossiping with other students.

And, heavens, did she. Within ten minutes, most of the upperclassmen had heard; within another twenty, the underclassmen. Within thirty, the whole student body was abuzz with details and theories about the 'Attack on Danny Fenton.'

Danny Fenton, doppelgänger of socialite Richard Grayson and son of controversial local celebrities, was mysteriously missing from school three days after they met each other in an incredibly public manner.

"My aunt's dog walker said a white van was parked out front by the end of the night." "Sounds like the GIW." "Definitely. Something was always off about the Fenton kid." "At least Jazz is normal. Well, normal enough. She at least _has_ a morning makeup routine, however bland it may be."

"Did you hear about Fenton? I heard he bled out in the park and his corpse was eaten by wild dogs before the police could positively ID him." "No way, bro, wouldn't that have been on the news?" "Nah, my older brother's roommate's cousin's bestie interns with the coroner in Cincinnati; they always try to cover this stuff up before hysteria spreads."

"His parents probably bumped him off on purpose because they need cash. I heard his hair is insured for ten thousand dollars." "Ugh, get real. Fenton is nowhere _near_ vain or hot enough." "Are you kidding? Have you _seen_ those luscious raven locks? The only reason I'm dating Kwan is because his hair is _almost_ as nice. But don't tell him or anyone else I said that or you're off the A-List _yesterday_ , got it?"

"I bet Grayson ordered a hit on a rogue clone, and the agency he hired is just framing the parents." "Dude, you have been watching _way_ too many spy movies."

And this was the turmoil which greeted Sam and Tucker as they morosely walked into school. Every theory stung or, in some cases, made the pair laugh ironically. They made their way to Lancer's class and took their normal seats.

"If only he had taken his phone," Sam moaned.

"His parents or the police could track him if he kept it on him. It's better if he leaves it behind," Tucker said. He sighed and let a grim expression settle on his face. "Let's hope it takes at least a couple more days before Mr. and Mrs. F connect him with Phantom. Then all they need is to track his ecto-signature via satellite."

"Oh, god." Sam slunk deeper into her chair. "Any way we can prevent that?"

"If I had access to their computers, I could probably swap Phantom's ecto-sig with the Box Ghost. _That_ would keep them busy."

Sam giggled despite herself. "Well. that takes care of the Fentons. What do we do about…the other guys?"

"Who, Robin?"

"And Batman. If they're as interested in Danny as we think, and they're as good at what they _do_ as we think, the entire Justice League will descend upon Amity Park hunting down the missing doppelgänger of Richard Grayson-slash-Robin."

"I guess it would help to know what they know. Of course the simplest way to do that is to…oh. Shit." Tucker dropped his forehead to his desk.

"That didn't sound like the good kind of 'shit'…"

"Definitely not," Tucker mumbled. "I think I have to try and hack—if it even exists—the Batcave…"

* * *

Jack was already at the table when Maddie shuffled in. Ten A.M., the latest morning she had had since sophomore year of university. Jack stopped rolling his coffee mug along its base's circular edge as soon as the pair made eye contact.

Maddie hovered in the doorway. "Morning."

Jack forced himself to take a deep breath so he could reply. "…Morning."

—

" _Why did you SHOOT him?!"_

" _Well why did you TRUST him?!"_

—

"Isn't there coffee?" Maddie asked.

"Drank it all. Up since 4. Couldn't sleep."

"With good reason," the woman growled under her breath. She began preparing another pot.

It was frigid but enough of a conversation to be deemed passable. They could last another five minutes at least before another exchange would be necessary to keep up the semblance of a functioning relationship. Soon, Maddie was sitting next to him, not across; no eye contact was necessary that way, so each could scowl at their respective walls.

"Jazz?" Jack finally asked.

"Coming."

As if on cue, a door elsewhere in the house slammed open, and footsteps rushed down the stairs to the ground floor. Jazz, like her mother, froze in the doorway upon appearance.

—

" _Jack, we have to find- Jazz! Jazz, honey, do you know where your brother went?"_

" _Somewhere safe, that's for sure."_

—

Unlike her mother, Jazz openly glared and clenched her fists before stomping to the refrigerator. She forcefully removed the greek yogurt and berries before shutting the appliance as if it had personally offended her.

Maddie flinched at the noise. "Jazz-"

"Don't even try me," the redhead interrupted in a venomous, biting tone before continuing to prepare her breakfast.

—

" _Jazz-"_

" _The hell were you thinking, Dad?! Why would you shoot Danny?!"_

" _I was startled-"_

" _Startled my ass! You cornered him like a scared rabbit, and he ran like one because of it!"_

—

The two parents ducked their heads in shame. There was no room for debate; mistakes had been made. Maddie sighed and continued, "We're going to the police station later. To report him officially missing. Did you want to-"

"Did I want to come?" Jazz asked mockingly. "You know they won't be able to catch or even find him, you _know_ it. You're only going to make it harder for him while he searches for answers."

"We can't let Danny go, Jazz," Jack said. "It's not responsible to let a teenager run lost in the world, regardless of whether he's actually ours or not."

—

" _I've spent more than two years helping him hide the ectoplasm! NOT MY CHOICE. Not my choice, because you are our parents and wouldn't do that. But he was so petrified you wouldn't trust it was still him that I kept my mouth shut. Looks like I was wrong, because that's EXACTLY what happened!"_

" _That- that THING is not our Danny! He's not even related to us!"_

" _He's your son, Dad! He's Danny, whoever the FUCK 'Danny' is!"_

" _Whoever that is, we're going to find him!"_

" _I'm sure you won't rest until you do, molecule…by…molecule."_

—

Jazz sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Yes, I'll come. Just wait for me to finish my breakfast, *molecule by molecule,*" she mocked.

* * *

"Missing?"

"Indeed, sir," Alfred confirmed.

Bruce sat back in the chair and steepled his hands, much as Dick had mimicked in that precise position merely one week before. "Odd timing."

"Quite." Alfred typed out a quick command on his tablet and flicked the image to the Batcave's primary computer bank. A live feed of Amity Park reporter Tiffany Snow began playback.

" _More drama strikes the Fenton household. In the wake of Friday's charity banquet benefiting the Damage and Aftereffect Relief Endowment, commonly known as DARE, local and national news sources have been reeling after the discovery of a local teen's strong resemblance to Gotham City socialite, Richard Grayson. Since that evening, speculations have overtaken the minds of the nation as people wonder whether it is mere coincidence or something more sinister at play. Suspicions have only been on the rise since news of an apparent disagreement at Fenton Works broke yesterday evening. It appears the situation has come to a head, as Lance Thunder reports live from outside the Amity Park Police headquarters. Lance?"_

The feed switched to a disgruntled blond reporter standing outside an austere building. A technical assistant was using a comb to fix the man's signature quiff. _"When was the last time I reported on the ACTUAL weather? This is ridic-"_ Lance's face froze in momentary terror before he aggressively shoved the assistant out of frame and schooled his visage with confidence. _"Thank you, Tiffany. I'm currently standing outside the visitors' entrance to the police department where one of our viewers reported seeing the Fenton Family Ghost Assault Vehicle arrive not thirty minutes ago. We have received confirmation that Doctors Madeline and John Fenton reported their son, one Daniel 'Danny' James Fenton, officially missing as of six PM yesterday evening._

_"This news comes less than a week after Amity Park heard of the boy's previous mysterious disappearance, though it remains to be seen whether local hero_ —or anti-hero— _Danny Phantom is involved this time as well. Rumors of alleged gunfire swirling since this morning have only fueled the fire of Danny's second vanishing. One must ask whether the teen's sudden departure has anything to do with his potential relation to Richard Grayson, or whether it was spurred on by the reported gunfire. We are now awaiting the inevitable reappearance of the Fenton fam-"_ A ruckus behind Lance distracted him from his current thought. The hordes of reporters waiting outside the police station were now swarming three figures emerging from the building. _"And here they come now. Chris, let's move!"_

Lance and the camera man apparently shoved their way through the crowds to the forefront where Madeline, Jack and their daughter Jasmine speed-walked towards their car. _"Dr. Fenton! Dr. Fenton! Would you care to comment on reports of gunfire causing your son to flee for safety?"_

While Madeline looked shell-shocked, Jasmine forced the woman aside and glared at the reporter. _"Aren't you supposed to be a weatherman?"_ she quipped.

" _That's what I keep saying!"_ Lance whined. _"Uh, I mean, the public wants to be reassured of the safety of your brother! Now tell me, was Daniel James Fenton injured purposefully or by accident due to a technical malfunction of your parents' infamously unreliable technology?"_

Jasmine bristled. _"Your sorry ass AND the entire town would be drifting halfway across the infinite expanses of the Ghost Zone by now if it weren't for my parents' expertise! Now get out of the way; I have to find my brother."_

And with that, the girl plowed a path through the reporters so she and her parents could escape. As they climbed into the waiting RV, the mother paused in the door and cried to the camera, _"Danny, please come home so we can talk about this!"_

The vehicle roared to life and sped away. Lance returned his attention to the camera.

" _And there you have it, folks,"_ he concluded. _"If you have any information regarding the whereabouts of Danny Fenton, please don't hesitate to contact your local authorities. Until then, we can only speculate on what there is for the Fenton family to discuss upon his return. Eagerly anticipating that new position in Cleveland, this is Lance Thunder, Action News. Back to you, Tiffany."_

Bruce paused the video. "Gunfire?" he prompted.

"Given the results Mr. Fox provided last night, I believe it is safe to assume that it was a so-called 'ecto-weapon.' Whether the Fentons purposefully shot at their son or there was a misfire due to the weaponry's detection of ectoplasm in young Daniel remains to be seen."

"I see. Too bad this happened after we left Amity and after we received the test results. We may have been able to intervene."

"We still have to decide what to do about Master Dick."

"If he even is Dick. We can't be sure whether the body being removed from Cadmus was a successful clone or the original. The extraction chambers in which he, Aqualad and Kid Flash awoke could merely have been a ruse after successfully duplicating and potentially replacing them. We cannot be certain whether it is the real Dick Grayson or a Cadmus replacement currently in class at Gotham Academy—or the Wally West at Keystone or Aqualad in Atlantis for the day, for that matter."

"So we must now consider all three under suspicion," Alfred clarified. "All four, including Daniel Fenton."

"Unfortunately, yes. We will have to leave Dick in the dark regarding Fox's discoveries for the time being until we know he can be trusted. But the Fenton boy certainly creates a frightening possibility. If Cadmus—and subsequently the Light—were able to create a perfect copy _with_ additional extra-human capabilities, they pose a larger threat than we originally surmised."

"We can't be too sure it wasn't simply a coincidence that Dick's genetic duplicate has abilities. It could have been a result of his living above an experimental laboratory. Or are we forgetting the origins of the Flash and his protégé?"

Bruce released an exasperated sigh. "There isn't a single certainty in this entire situation, besides the fact that the boy known as Danny Fenton and identical to Richard Grayson has gone missing. We must find him and determine his connection to the original Daniel and Richard."

"Perhaps an investigation into hospital and police records from Daniel and Richard's birthday would be a start?" Alfred suggested, already heading towards the staircase back to the house.

"Yes…"

* * *

It had been a long journey, but every day seemed an improvement over what she once was. Two days' travel from Paris was quite draining, though it would have been far worse without having stowed away on a transatlantic flight; if only she hadn't boarded the plane for Atlanta but Toronto as intended.

Nevertheless, Dani had successfully returned to Amity Park early Monday morning. She made her way straight to Casper High to find and confront her original to find out what had been going on; strangely, though, he wasn't there. Sam and Tucker sat alone and morose in class. Odd. There were no signs of a ghost fight happening in town.

Next stop: Fenton Works.

* * *

"Can't you just hunt down their IP address or something?" Sam asked from over Tucker's shoulder.

"Well if we _had_ an IP address to go off of, then yeah. But, we _don't_ have one. I don't even know if the batcave has a set location on the internet. It probably has a web of decoy addresses, VPNs, impenetrable firewalls, fluid network classes, false subnet masks…Heck, for all we know, they might even be using alien tech courtesy of the other Leaguers!"

"Well, we know it's probably in Gotham. Can't we start there?"

"Yeah, that only narrows it down to _ten million people_ with, like, 20 or 30 million IP addresses."

"What about the Waynes? Or Wayne Tech?" Sam suggested. "I think it's pretty safe to say that if Dick Grayson is Robin, then Bruce Wayne is Batman."

"Holy crap," Tucker breathed. "I didn't even think about that! We know who the freaking Batman is!"

"Focus, Tucker!"

"Right! Right. I'll start with Wayne Tech and try to find a ghost server probably in or at least connected to the Batcave." He began typing furiously in his laptop's terminal window.

* * *

_[Translating… Translating… Translation Complete]_

Witness Name: _Louise de Lyon_

Position: _Maternity Nurse, L'Hôpital Hôtel Dieu, Paris, France_

Date of Report: _20 March, 2002_

Time of Report: _21:17_

Incident Date: _20 March, 2002_

Incident Time: _17:30 (approximation)_

Reporting Officer: _Roger Raincomprix_

Please describe in detail what you saw: _There was a suspicious man lurking in the maternity ward, near the Natal Intensive Care Unit. He ran before I could get a really good look at him, and I'm not sure he even did anything while in the hospital because nothing seemed amiss when we searched the whole floor. I think he may have been a patient suffering from acute cases of hyphema and methemoglobinemia. I also saw that he had jet-black hair and was wearing a white lab coat. Perhaps he disguised himself as a doctor to try and escape his room?_

Notes from the Reporting Officer: _Later inquiries revealed that no patients were admitted to Hôtel Dieu with either or both of the indicated conditions. Further investigation is required._

_[Case assigned 'Closed-Unsolved' designation on 21 March, 2002]_

Bruce frowned at the note of closure stamped at the bottom of the scanned page in red ink. Why would it be left unsolved, and only a day later? Surely the police would have taken longer to investigate.

"Any luck, sir?" Alfred inquired, returning with a tray of tea.

"I found a police report from Dick's birthday. A nurse from the hospital said she saw a man with black hair, blue skin and red eyes lurking in the maternity ward. I think we may be dealing with an unknown metahuman."

"Given the involvement of the Fentons in this nasty business, we may need to consider ghostly activity. I'll cross-reference those characteristics with known aggressors in Amity Park."

The computer pinged, and Bruce smirked. "We may not need to. Look who's decided to drop in for a visit?"

* * *

Tucker sat back in awe. "Oh my god, I found it."

"You found it?" Sam replied, instantly dropping her book and coming to Tucker's side.

"Holy crap, I just found the Batcave," Tucker continued, letting out a short, giddy laugh before immediately sobering. "We are so dead if Batman ever finds out it was us."

"Will he?"

"Nah, I don't think so. It's not like I don't have my own protection set up."

—

"Casper High library, wireless connection, third floor," Alfred reported. "CCTV footage streaming…now."

The two men leaned in to scrutinize the two teens on screen. "So young, so naïve," Bruce commented.

"I must say you seem frighteningly calm when our secure cave database has been accessed by a 'techno geek' on high school wifi," Alfred commented haughtily.

"Oh, but they didn't."

—

"Doesn't this seem…I don't know…sparse?" Sam suggested. "You'd think there would be more files."

"Maybe they keep most of them offline," Tucker said. "Or I suppose it could be-"

—

"-a decoy server," Bruce explained. "I keep one up to date buried within the Wayne Tech database and supply it with moderately interesting yet not particularly classified information. Anyone trying to find the alleged 'batcave' will think they have succeeded and be drastically disappointed. Any access whatsoever automatically alerts us here at the cave."

"Like leaving scraps for the dog, sir."

"Scraps infected with a benign virus leading us to whoever is trying to bite," he answered, a slight but smug grin on his face.

—

"It looks like they've been researching Danny and-" Tucker gasped "-running DNA and chemical analyses?! How the heck did they get the samples?"

Sam plopped down into a chair next to Tucker. "That's probably what Robin was doing in Danny's room on Saturday."

"They even have a file labeled 'Phantom'!"

"How could they have gotten his ectoplasm? Well I guess he was getting pretty beaten at the ball. Must've left ectoplasm everywhere, the idiot," Sam chastised.

"Hey," the techno geek soothed. "We had no reason to suspect yet. And it's not like we _ever_ have time to clean up after his fights."

Sam sighed and looked back at the screen. "Well, I guess it was bound to come out anyway. I've always wondered how his Phantom ecto-DNA works."

—

"You left Mr. Fox's test results for them?"

Bruce shrugged. "They're in this far deeper than originally suspected, and their intentions with Danny seem…protective, almost familial. They could prove useful in figuring out whether the Danny on the run is or ever was their actual 'Danny.' "

"If you say so, Master Bruce."

Bruce refocused his attention onto the part of his display showing a mirror of Tucker's laptop screen. "Now, let's leave them a little present…"

—

"Check it out!" Tuck pointed at the files on the screen. "Batman must be active right now! There's a new file uploading."

"Seriously?" Sam leaned in. " 'Police Report - 2002-03-20,' " she read out as Tucker opened it. "Great, it's in French."

"Um, Sam?" Tucker deadpanned. "It's called Google Translate."

—

"You're not bestowing the translation upon them as well? How discourteous."

"Can't make it too easy for them."

—

"Hyphema and methemoglobinemia. What the heck are those?" Tucker asked.

"Hold on," Sam said and whipped out her phone. "Hyphema: blood in the irises; methemoglobinemia: blood disease which turns the skin blue…"

"Maybe she just _thought_ it was blood in the eyes, but the eyes were actually red? Who do we know with red eyes, blue skin and black hair?"

"A Grand Admiral Thrawn cosplayer?" Sam joked, eliciting a snicker from Tucker. "Well there's the Box Ghost, for one, but then there's always-" She cut off with a gasp. "Shit. Not him."

"Oh, god," Tucker moaned as soon as he realized. "Of course it's him."

"Fruitloop," they affirmed in unison.

—

"Lipreading software indicates they said 'Fruit loop,' sir," Alfred said.

"There's nothing available in the Fenton Works files relating to the term," Bruce replied after a brief search through the hacked database. "Though I doubt the kids would tell Madeline and Jack about them in order to keep up appearances of innocence and disinterest."

"But it appears you were right, Master Bruce. The youths helped after all. Consider me surprised."

"Have you no faith in me, Alfred?"

—

"This feels way too convenient…" Sam murmured with squinted eyes. "Isn't it odd that we found the Batcave files exactly where we were looking for them? And then a new file giving us a new lead *magically* appears while we're connected?"

"Ever the optimist, Sam. Just look on the bright side: for once, we're getting answers instead of questions!" Tuck remarked as he downloaded all the available files.

"Well, Mr. Tech Genius, is there a way to tell if we're being watched?"

"My firewalls would have alerted me if so much as a _cookie_ tried to download," Tucker replied with unbridled confidence.

Sam, thoroughly unimpressed, glanced around the room before her eyes rested upon a security camera in the corner. She stared, hard, before offering a sarcastic wave at the device and saying, "Thanks."

"Hey, look, another folder is being uploaded!" Tuck interrupted, and Sam turned back to the laptop.

Upon reading the folder name, the two teens panicked and raced to pack up and flee the library.

_[You're Welcome]_

—

"Somewhat juvenile, don't you think, Master Bruce?" Alfred commented drily as they watched the spectacle onscreen.

Bruce smirked. "They have enough information to lead us to some answers; Tucker is proving far more capable with a computer than almost any of our adversaries, given the fact that he's the _first_ to find the decoy Batcave files. He may prove to be a worthy ally, regardless of how the business with Daniel Fenton turns out." He paused to chuckle. "Besides, don't you think we could use a private laugh after the drama of the past week?"

"Better than your typical brooding, sir."

"I resent that, Alfred," Bruce replied with a huff.

"It's practically in your daily diary, Master Bruce," the butler said.

* * *

Dick was not at all shocked to be the center of attention come Monday morning. He was already at the forefront of Gotham Academy's social scene, so the news of his doppelgänger unsurprisingly overtook any other academy gossip.

"Dude! Did he have himself _cloned?!"_ "No way, man! Grayson's not that weird." "But _Bruce Wayne_ is and has a whole tech empire at his disposal! You can't tell me that billionaire doesn't get up to some freaky-ass sh-"

"-it is incredible, but I told my mom, like, come on, there's at least like seven people on earth that look like us. Grayson just found one of his." "Yeah, that rando backwater kid is just a fluke of nature."

"I heard Grayson's going to have him added to Bruce Wayne's will. Kid's desperate for any family after that accident. Fenton's going to be _rich._ " "Wicked."

"I bet Grayson used some of the Wayne fortune to pay him to wear stage makeup in case he needed a body double at the charity ball. He probably looks nothing like him." "Yes, Maps, because _every_ rich person needs a body double." "They do! There are assassins everywhere! I saw it on _60 Minutes._ "

"Maybe he's Dick's long-lost twin from whom he was tragically separated at birth? It's so Dickensian!" " _You're_ so Dickensian."

"My ex-best friend's boyfriend's cousin's hair stylist is Facebook friends with a guy who shares an apartment with somebody from Amity Park, and she told me that he told her that she told him they- wait, no, now I'm confused. Basically, this guy from Amity said that Danny Fenton got plastic surgery to look like Grayson so he could be more popular because he used to be bullied all the time." "…Did it work?" "Nah, apparently they tease him _more_ because of it. Oh, well, at least he chose a good model to work off of." "You said it, gurl. _Damn."_

Dick chuckled to himself as he listened in on everyone's theories. None of them were as wild as what could be the truth. He settled his things in his locker on his way to physics before realizing a group of other mathletes had surrounded him. "Uh, hey, guys," he greeted and absentmindedly fixed his hair to try and appear nonchalant.

"Hey, man, is it true?" one asked.

"Is what true?"

"That the Fenton kid is the lost Grayson twin!" another piped up.

"The lost Grayson twin?" he parroted with a nervous chuckle. His eyes darted to a blonde girl hovering on the periphery, suddenly becoming very cautious of what he might or might not confirm with her present.

"So, is he?"

"I dunno…I guess we do look kind of similar?"

"Come on, Dick, you guys are identical!" the first said. Everyone murmured their agreement.

"I mean, I guess," he said with a shrug. "What difference does it make? It's not like we're actually related."

"But you could be!"

Dick snickered and raised his hands in surrender. "Alright, you got me; he's my evil twin."

The mathletes laughed and didn't notice when Dick quickly steered the conversation to another subject.

Artemis, however, did.

* * *

Dani huffed when she found Fenton Works deserted. It was stranger still to discover no anti-ghost measures had been activated in the Fentons' absence. In the end, after raiding the pantry for a snack, the girl made her way downstairs to the vacant lab. A quick glance around, and Dani sent a brief mental thank-you to Danny for sneaking her biometrics into the Fenton Works systems so she could open the portal for her own use.

It wasn't long before Dani found herself at Clockwork's lair. He seemed to be the only *reliable* source of information available at the moment, though his intel could rarely be described as 'direct.' Regardless, she had flown halfway around the world and fully intended on getting answers. Dani found the master of time with his back to her. He stood at his workstation in front of the viewing screens, watching what appeared to be hospital staff in panic mode.

"Welcome, Danielle," the ghost greeted as he shifted to his middle-aged form without facing her.

"Hiya, Clocky," she replied, knowing full well the nickname irked him. She floated closer and landed on the ground.

A dramatic pause preceded the elder ghost's response. Clockwork eventually spun to face her. "He is in trouble and needs assistance. I imagine you wish to help?"

"For Danny? Anything," she assured.

Shifting to his youngest form, he held up a time medallion by its lanyard and gave a cryptic smile. "Then there's something I need you to do."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think "*You're* so Dickensian" is one of my favorite unintelligent comebacks I've ever written.
> 
> This week's easter eggs:
> 
> \- A Mean Girls reference in the rumor mills of Casper High. (Danny's alleged hair insurance)
> 
> \- A cameo by a Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir character, because i couldn't NOT when a scene takes place in Paris. (The reporting officer named in the police report)
> 
> \- A cameo by a Gotham Academy comic series character, Maps. (the stage-makeup body double conspiracy theorist)
> 
> \- Grand Admiral Thrawn is a Star Wars villain with uncanny similarities to Plasmius (black hair, blue skin, red eyes, white overcoat...). Shoutout to reader Quiet Leaf for finding the missing reference!


	9. Fruit Loop

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We finally find out what Danny's been up to since ditching Spectra!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick shoutout to Arrested Development for making it so hard for me to write this chapter's drama seriously. I rarely audibly laugh; *this* show had me forcing myself to stay quiet to not wake up my flatmates at 1:00am.

"There's something I need you to do."

Dani squinted in suspicion and glanced briefly at the scene behind him. "What?"

Clockwork revolved to face the screens, focusing on a room where Dani could recognize younger versions of the Fenton parents. "March 20, 2002: Daniel James Fenton was prematurely born mid-afternoon at a hospital in central Paris. He was immediately taken to the NICU—that is, the Natal Intensive Care Unit. Minutes later," he continued, focusing on another screen, "Richard Grayson and his as-yet unnamed twin—gypsy magic failed to predict the second son—are born on schedule, but Richard fell ill. Both twins were taken to the same room of the NICU as Danny-" he turned to a third screen "-and put in a shared isolette for treatment."

"So what do you need me to do?"

"If nothing is done, the boy we know as Danny will die. I need you to go back in time, switch the babies wearing the blue and yellow beanies, then switch the beanies back so no suspicion is aroused."

"Wait…WHAT?!" Dani squawked, thoroughly scandalized. "No way! What the hell is wrong with you? I can't just go switch two unsuspecting parents'…kids…"

Her protests died off when a new set of scenes overtook the displays. Even at first glance, something about them made her skin crawl. Some showed death, destruction, enslavement; one even showed the shattered remains of what used to be Earth with a glowing green asteroid continuing uninterrupted on its path through the solar system.

"Is that-?"

"The future, should Danny and the Grayson boy not be switched." He released a deep exhale. "It is a cruel fate for those boys; a life of deception, heartbreak...confusion, perhaps. But they will _have_ lives; they will meet amazing people and save the world on countless occasions. Without the role of 'Danny Fenton' filled, there would be no Phantom. There would be no portal. The Fenton parents would be so disheartened that their research never develops, and the family of three would have been cast into obscurity. The Graysons would have settled rather than travel the world with the circus, preventing the tragic accident in the first place and depriving an entire generation of future heroes of their eventual leader.

"So, you see, humanity will owe its continued existence to these two boys because of the events which will unfold. I do not exaggerate when I tell you the fate of the Earth will be put in jeopardy no fewer than twice over the next three years alone. Do you understand?"

Dani stood shell-shocked. "I—y-yeah, I guess. It just doesn't feel…right."

"It isn't," he admitted. "It is one of the worst possible things to do to young parents. I wish there were another way, yet...for the sake of the planet..."

"For the sake of the planet," Dani parroted.

Clockwork gave a small, fond smile. "Remember: you yourself would not come to exist in the present without your own intervention in the past."

"We can debate the value of my personal existence later," she growled drily. "But if you say this will help Danny and Dick Grayson and, like, *all of humanity,* then," she sighed and held out a resigned hand, "I'll do it."

Clockwork's smile grew full as he handed over the lanyard. "You will have your own impact on humanity—and its out-of-this-world saviors—too."

"Alright." Dani put on the fateful medallion. "Put me in, coach; I'm ready to-

* * *

"-play." Dani shut her mouth instantly, realizing that she was already back in time. She found herself in an omnipresent deserted broom closet. She shook out her limbs, stretched her neck and gave herself a single nod of assurance. "Okay. Let's do this."

Danielle became invisible and phased through the door, finding herself in a bustling hallway. She recognized French being spoken, though she couldn't understand what was being said. _'Weird, it doesn't *feel* like the past…'_

As if on cue, a passing businessman's pager went off.

' _Okay, I stand corrected.'_

As she passed down the hall, multiple people shivered briefly from the feeling of her passing through their bodies. The youngest halfa found the appropriate NICU room and phased through the wall. As expected, there were the three babies in two isolettes.

It was not a moment too soon. The Fenton baby's EKG was flatlining, and both of the Graysons' pulses were weak. She watched on in barely-contained horror as Daniel Fenton didn't respond to any of the staff's attempts at revival. The three staff present worked tirelessly, but alas, to no avail.

Eventually, the nurses and doctors refocused on the twins. Dani took advantage of their preoccupation to disconnect Danny from the already-blaring monitors in preparation for the switch. All she needed was a distraction. Now…what was distracting enough…

'… _Ah, yes: falling glass.'_

With an invisible smug grin, Dani flung open the door of a cabinet and shoved a handful of beakers and unused needles to the floor. Sure enough, the staff momentarily tore their attention away from the Graysons.

Dani used the opportunity to gently but swiftly lift the lifeless Fenton baby and place him in the Grayson's crib. A quick swapping of blue and yellow beanies, and the two babies were reconnected to each other's respective machines.

The return of 'Fenton's' heartbeat distracted the staff from discerning what had caused the glass to fall. Dani wasn't sure what was said, but it was certainly joyous. Half the gathered staff, though, noticed the now-flatlining 'Grayson'—formerly Daniel, now James—and began attempting to revive him as well. Little did they know that they had already tried everything.

A fleeting feeling of guilt overcame the invisible girl, but she shoved it aside for now. Danny _must_ know a good counselor by this point, if only Jazz. No, she had to stay for a few moments and make sure nothing happened to 'Danny' so it wasn't all for naught. The room's emotions seemed to stabilize into that of overwhelming sadness as the futility of 'James' ' revival was realized. The staff soon morosely walked from the room after assuring that Danny and the remaining Grayson would be fine.

The vacant room allowed Dani a couple minutes of sober reflection, so she hovered next to the Fenton crib and rested a hand on its shielding. _'I'm so sorry you have to go through this, though Clocky says it's for the best,'_ she thought. Dani looked over her shoulder at the true Fenton, already departed from this world mere minutes after having joined it. _'I hope he's right.'_

Dani took a few steps back to the corner to watch. Fiddling with the lanyard of the medallion, she observed the two boys who would apparently change the fate of the world. Two innocent babies, completely unaware of their significance, completely unaware of what she had done. Dani nearly cursed herself for agreeing to help Clockwork, but if what he said was true...

A sort of serenity filled the room. The machinery of the deceased 'James Grayson' had been silenced, so the only sounds remaining were the silent rush of climate control and steady beeping of the EKGs. It was nearly unbelievable to the girl that such a globally impactful event should have gone off without a hitch. Dani couldn't help but take a moment to mourn the passing of the real Danny Fenton, doomed to instant obscurity with his uncelebrated burial under a false name. The poor boy never had a chance.

Neither would Maddie, if nothing had been done to replace Danny with a living baby. There was little which Dani knew about her original's number, but one thing eminently apparent was the ferocity with which the woman loves her children. Losing a son would break her. Though, she felt, that was hardly justification for the strife under which the true mother would suffer from the loss of one of her twins. If only Mary Grayson had lived long enough to discover her second son had survived after all.

It was just as Dani had accepted her role and started to lift the medallion from around her neck that she felt something she most certainly should not have: her ghost sense. In her invisible, intangible state, she saw another ghostly figure enter the room; a figure which she knew all too well and couldn't help but address.

"Vla-

* * *

"-d?!"

But that short squawk of a name was all she managed, as the surprise had caused her arm to twitch and remove the medallion's lanyard the rest of the way, returning her to the present. She looked from the screens—soundlessly continuing to play the now frantic hospital scene—to the medallion in her palm, to her host with mouth agape. Clockwork waited expectantly.

"The hell was that?!"

"Your first impact on humanity," the elder ghost replied.

"But Vlad-?"

"Yes." Clockwork sighed and, taking her medallion, joined the girl in observing the frozen hospital scene. With a shift to his oldest form, he continued, "Vladimir Masters-turned-Plasmius will have his own roll to play because of the…admittedly *mistaken* impression this day left on him. He has already played a part, actually."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Your reaction moments ago is proof enough that this particular detail was best left excluded from the briefing. Your knowledge of his presence would risk the entire operation. In fact, your moment of surprise is what set the rest of it into motion."

"Wait, so…why is _he_ there if I'm the one that switched the babies?"

"Ask yourself this, Danielle: did you enact the _only_ interference that afternoon?"

Dani glared, realization dawning. "Hold up, you're saying…he switches them again? Did I mess it up? Did he?!"

"Danielle, look around you. You are here; you exist. This is not an alternate time stream. What happened that day has already happened the way it should, _including_ your meddling. Having you volunteer to go back merely made sure of it."

"So-wait, then Vlad was-?"

Clockwork glanced back at the screens before giving her a knowing look. "Perhaps a firsthand account would be more useful on this occasion?"

Without another word, the elder disappeared. Dani groaned and flew towards the door. "I hate it when he does that."

* * *

"Oh—oh, no," Maddie moaned. Her eyes began to glisten. "Jack, look at tomorrow's date."

Jack looked at the corner of the lab computer screen. It currently read Monday, March 19. "Oh."

"What kind of parents are we?" the worried mother asked and sniffled. "Our own son will be running from home on his own birthday!"

"But he's not our son!"

Maddie went back to aggressively fiddling with the Fenton Tracker. "Oh, sure, _now_ you accept that he isn't the real Danny, and without any hesitation whatsoever."

Jack spun around in his desk chair to face her. "Will you make up your mind already?! Am I supposed to be happy or not that that person—that _thing_ replaced our son?"

The tracker clattered onto the workbench. "I spent _years_ going to counseling because you all thought I was crazy back at the hospital! Don't get on the high horse now, mister."

"That was different," Jack impatiently tried to explain. "You had just given birth, and we thought we were going to lose him, so we just assumed it was the stress and hormones. Turns out we _did_ lose Danny, and you were right after all. Congratulations!"

"Look, I want to find out what happened to our real son just as much as you," Maddie spat. "But in the meantime, this Danny is hurting and alone in some strange city, and feeling abandoned and _attacked_ by the people he holds most dear! Never mind the fact we've been unknowingly _hunting_ him for months in his ghost-" Her rant stalled, and she focused on the discarded tracker. "His ghost form! Jack, the ectosignature. We can use that to find him and bring him home!"

Jack immediately opened their files of every ghost recorded visiting Amity Park. It didn't take long for him to discover something amiss. "I don't understand it, Mads," Jack muttered, mostly to himself, as he hunched over the lab's main computer. "There is no evidence of us ever having had Phantom's ectosignature on file. Every other record appears to be intact."

"I wouldn't put it past Jazz or one of Danny's friends to have deleted it once he ran, which means the kids are much deeper in this than we could have hoped." Maddie huffed. "And it's not like we can confront them about it without tipping off their parents, and there's no way we could do that without outing Danny's…"

"Ghostliness?" Jack finished for her, unable to stop the growl that always seems to accompany that word. "No. We need to try and contain this until we know _what_ the hell is going on and _where_ the hell our real son is."

"One step at a time, Jack. Let's go see if Jazz kept a backup."

She didn't.

* * *

Tucker, however, did.

"Still no sign?"

"Not since Pittsburgh," Tucker answered Sam as he put away the *borrowed* Fenton tech. They rounded the corner into the lavish Polter Heights. "He must be staying out of his ghost form just in case. We'll have to hack the Fenton satellite and temporarily boost its strength since his ectosignature is so suppressed in human form. But, I can only do it for seconds at a time due to the amplification, and then the fuel cells will need _hours_ to recharge the supercapacitors in order to cope."

"Will Mr. and Mrs. Fenton know that?"

"Probably." The pair tried to act nonchalant at the passing of a car. "But either way, their hands are tied without his signature. Otherwise, the satellite will only be showing every ectosignature in the northern hemisphere with no idea how to identify Danny's in particular."

"Hopefully they don't figure out you were the one to delete the file. The last thing we need is a determined Mrs. Fenton on our tail."

"True that," Tucker drawled, pulling Sam down to hide behind a shrub in front of the Masters property.

"This would be so much easier with Danny here," Sam hissed.

Tucker shifted to a more comfortable crouch in their hiding spot. "We wouldn't *be* here if Danny were here," he deadpanned in reply and took out his smartphone.

"So get us in already!"

"I'm not a magician, Sam! I can't just magically wave my hand and get us past any security in the world!"

Sam looked at Tucker.

Tucker looked at Sam.

"Can you get us in or not?"

"Well, _yeah,_ but that's not the point! You need to lower your expectations." The boy then made quick work of remotely accessing the Masters mansion's security system and temporarily disabling the motion detectors and locks. "Alright, we have a thirty-second window. Go!"

The pair raced across the lawn to the kitchen door around back and made it inside just in time for the system to re-engage. They snuck through the house to the upstairs study where Vlad was sure to be at this time of evening. Sure enough…

"Aha!" Tucker shouted when they burst through the door.

Vlad, thoroughly unamused, merely swirled the brandy in his glass as he stared into the blazing fireplace. "I was wondering how long it would take you to come. I've practically been on the edge of my seat since I saw that young Daniel was missing."

"What have you done, Plasmius?" Sam demanded, hand fingering the lipstick blaster in her pocket.

"I don't know what you mean," Vlad replied. He strode gracefully to his desk and sat down with his back to the plate glass windows overlooking the lawns. The rising moon cast long blue pools of light into the subdued room.

"Paris, 2002. We know you were there," Tucker spat and tossed a printed copy of the police report onto the desk.

Vlad took up the document and appraised it. "Ah, yes, Officer Raincomprix. Good fellow. Not much of a brain, easily overshadowed and manipulated."

"Why did you do it?" Sam asked.

"Well, I couldn't have this investigated, could I? Not before the world was ready to hear of ghosts."

"That's not what I meant, and you know it!" she shouted. "What were you doing at the hospital on the day of Danny's birth?"

"Ah ah ah, now that would be telling, wouldn't it?" He leaned back with a smug grin and took a sip of his liquor.

"We demand answers, Fruit Loop," Tucker said. "What did you do to Danny and the Graysons?"

Before the man could formulate a reply, his ghost sense went off. A glowing figure phased through the glass and landed with her back to the teens.

"Alright, Plasmius, I never wanted to see your ugly mug again, but I need…answers." The newcomer's forceful speech died upon realizing she and the billionaire were not alone. "Sam? Tucker?"

"Danielle?!" the pair chorused.

"It's Dani, wi-"

"-with an 'I,' " they finished, and Sam continued, "Yeah, we get it."

All three turned expectantly to Vlad. "Why were you at the hospital?" they asked in unison, then comically turned to each other and added, "Wait, you know too?"

"We saw a police report," Tucker said.

"I was actually there," Dani explained, then added, "Clockwork."

Everyone present immediately understood.

Vlad, ever the NFD (Need for Drama) patient, turned his back to them to stare out over the sprawling gardens. After a long pause, he finally intoned, "I see there is no avoiding this delicate topic which has admittedly plagued me for almost sixteen years." A movement outside caught his eye. "Though unfortunately, our time is limited. It appears I have been found out. Let's make a deal."

"A deal?" Sam asked.

"I'll tell you what I know, if you come rescue me."

"Rescue?!"

Vlad heard stampeding in the hallway, so he thrust open one of the windows. "Yes. You three, go, now, before they see you with me. You won't have a chance with all the Light's forces by yourselves," he said in a harsh whisper and slammed a button on his desk. Everyone present heard a heavy lock bolting in the door. "I can't run now without them getting too suspicious of my being Plasmius. Our only chance is if you take them by surprise later. Go!"

Unable to form much of an argument, Dani took Sam and Tucker in hand and flew them outside just as the door burst open under the force of an explosive.

"What the heck is going on?!" Sam whispered.

"Sounds like Vlad has some enemies," Tucker said. "Dani, can you loop us around to see if we can find their escape vehicles?"

"Sure."

The trio looped around the property and its entry points. Soon, they found a fleet of black, armored SUV's parked on a dirt access road in the forest behind the property. Tucker didn't even need to take down the license plates to determine their affiliation. After all, the insurgents had used bright yellow paint to inscribe 'CADMUS' on their vehicles' sides.

* * *

Tucker sighed and crossed his arms. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"No," Sam answered, head in her hands. "But what other options do we have? It's not like the three of us can save him."

"We've saved Danny before," Tucker offered.

"And you saved me too," Dani added, reclining further on Tucker's bed with chip bag in hand. "Now it's _three_ of us against whoever."

Sam looked up. "What did Vlad mean by 'the Light'?"

"I mean…it's not even _for sure_ , but…"

"But what?"

"There was rumors of an underground, international criminal network calling themselves the 'Light.' The online data acquisition community-"

"Hacker community?"

" _-*data acquisition community,*"_ Tucker repeated for emphasis, "has been working for years to try and expose them, to no avail. Rumor has it they operate on their own private communication networks, which means they have to have some big players working with them to be able to design _and_ afford the tech."

"Like Vlad?" Dani said.

"Yeah," Sam added, "and Lex Luthor and all kinds of politicians and geniuses and even supervillains. If this exists—which it must, according to what Vlad said—then we're getting in way over our heads. I think this is the only time I'll ever agree with Vlad. We need help."

"So you're asking me to willingly hack the Batcave _again,_ and from my own house at that?"

"Well, how else are we going to get the League's attention? Call the hotline? Get through to the mayor's red landline fresh out of the 1960's?"

"And all of this to find out what happened to Danny?"

"Vlad said the Light was 'onto him," Sam said. "That means he's done something major enough to catch a global criminal network's attention, and I'm honestly starting to doubt whether it has nothing to do with Danny too. I say, let's do it."

Dani shifted to a different position on the bed. "Yeah, and I wanna know what I missed when I left the hospital room. It's not like Clockwork is going to up and change his mind about telling me himself. For all I know, all this is my fault. On a completely unrelated note, does Jazz still need volunteers to practice her counseling?"

Tucker glanced between the two silent, anxious girls, both nodding individually when he made eye contact. The boy sighed and spun around in his chair. "On our own heads be it."

It didn't take nearly as long as before to connect to the ghost server in Wayne Tech's database. Certain they were now being watched, Tucker created a new text file on the server and wrote,

_[Attention Batman: Vladimir Masters was abducted from his Amity Park residence at 8:20PM EST this evening. Suspected involvement of 'the Light.' Cadmus vehicles also spotted on-site. Please locate and help us rescue Masters to fulfill our end of an information exchange deal regarding the Fenton-Grayson-Robin situation.]_

"You don't think that's being _too_ forward?" Sam asked. "You're essentially telling him we know Robin's secret ID."

"Yeah, wouldn't Batman order a hit on us or something if we found out who he is?" Dani asked through a mouthful of chips.

Tucker sighed. "We've already hacked the Batcave _twice_ and we know they know who Danny is, and they know _we_ know they know. We're in too deep now to keep up the act of innocent teenagers. Plus, now we have to go after Vlad, and Batman and Robin are probably the only ones who know where they might be if not the Cadmus labs themselves."

"So, now what?"

"Now," Tucker said, grabbing a fistful of chips from the girl's bag, "we wait. I reverse-engineered the tracking bug Batman used to find us so now we can find him and access the _real_ Batcave." His computer pinged. "A Palisades, Gotham City address. Big surprise there. But, now we have a crumb trail to the _true_ information so I can start trying to get past the firewalls."

It didn't take much longer for an addition to appear in the text file.

_[Try the hotline next time.]_

Tucker immediately disconnected.

* * *

"So it would appear the children have led us to the 'Fruit Loop,' " Alfred commented, pulling up the cave's extensive records on the missing billionaire. "Though what Masters has to do with the incident report is beyond me. He looks nothing like the figure described at the hospital."

"No, but we have long suspected him of having associations with what we thought were metahumans but are actually ghosts," Bruce mused. "Not to mention his long association with the Fentons. It _could_ be an accomplice, or—or perhaps Masters has a similar biology to Danny Fenton in that he has his own so-called 'ghost form.' He did have a similar accident a couple years before Danny's birth and spent extensive time recuperating in various hospitals. It wouldn't stretch the imagination to suggest he developed capabilities and a second form of his own."

"If this is true, why does he require rescue?"

"I suspect he doesn't, in reality, but cannot escape because he would reveal his powers in doing so. Something I imagine he _wouldn't_ want the Light to find out. Time to start searching Cadmus facilities."

"And what of Master Dick, sir?"

"What about him?"

Alfred hesitated. "His birthday, sir."

Bruce let out a frustrated sigh. "Of course, it's tomorrow. Is everything in order for the celebrations?"

"Yes. And, his driving exam was scheduled for the morning, but perhaps we should postpone on all accounts."

"No," Bruce insisted. "As far as the public is concerned, everything in the Wayne household is fine, albeit with a little added mystery when it comes to the Fenton kid. We have to keep up appearances, as always. With 'Dick' as well, until we know more."

"Certainly, sir. I will remind the young master when he pesters me for his nightly indulgence of biscuits."

Bruce whirled around. "His nightly what?"

"Linguistics. To practice his Romani. Did I misspeak, sir?"

"Didn't you say 'biscuits?' "

"Would you like some, Master Bruce?"

"Some what?"

"Biscuits? Before I do the washing up."

Bruce squinted his eyes.

* * *

"Is this really the ideal time to take care of this?"

"But of course, Master Dick," Alfred replied, rinsing the dinner dishes before placing them in the washer. "We must keep up appearances, and despite the confusion involving young Daniel and his apparent connection to you, acquiring your license is paramount in case of emergencies."

Dick inhaled another shortbread. "But I already use the 'Bat-bike,' or 'Bird-bike' or whatever you want to call it."

"Indeed, yet that is reserved for when you are masquerading as an identity-less, masked vigilante." The butler shut off the water and dried his hands. "Consider the possibility of being in an unideal situation far from your gear and bike. You would need to be able to get yourself to their location posthaste."

Dick sighed. "I suppose you have a point," he conceded. "I just wish I knew what was going on with Danny. Maybe we'll get lucky and he's coming to us?"

"One can only hope, Master Dick."

"Ugh, when will we know whether he's my brother or clone? Still no word from Lucius?"

Quirking an eyebrow, Alfred quipped, "Your quote-unquote 'success' as a covert agent is not surprising, considering how bountiful your reserves of patience are."

Rolling his eyes, the boy asked, "So what time is the driving exam?"

"9:15am, so no funny business this evening. Finish your homework, then straight to bed."

"Happy birthday to me," the teen deadpanned and left to go to his room.

* * *

It had been a tiring day. Jazz couldn't help but audibly moan in relief when her head hit the pillow, settling into the soft embrace of her bedding. It was far later than she normally went to bed; not quite midnight, in fact, a testament to her otherwise peerless time management skills despite being in college. She set her phone's alarm for the morning and slapped the device face-down onto her nightstand.

Not two seconds after she shut her eyes, an alert buzzed. Jazz immediately snatched the device, hoping for any news from or about Danny. Instead, it was a reminder for an upcoming event the next day: Tuesday, March 20th.

_[Event: Danny's 16th Birthday — All Day]_

Her heart broke.

* * *

It took all of Sam's willpower to not throw her phone against the wall. Instead, she gingerly placed it back on the nightstand and curled into a ball on her side, staring at the device as if Danny himself would come out of it if she stared intensely enough. Hopefully, Tucker would succeed in his attempt to crack the Batcave and figure out where Cadmus was keeping Vlad.

* * *

The alert was far less troubling for Tucker, who had succeeded in accessing the true Bat-files. What that could mean for his future once Batman knew, he didn't know; but, it didn't matter at the moment.

A steady rhythm developed as he researched. A fistful of chips shoved into his mouth all at once, furious typing, scanning information, fistful of chips, repeat.

_BZZ-BZZ_

He tore his eyes from the computer and looked at the calendar notification on his phone screen. It only made him more resolute. He was one step closer to finding Vlad _and_ bringing Danny home.

Fistful of chips, furious typing, scanning information, chips, typing, scanning, repeat.

* * *

Danny could have made it to Gotham in less than half a day, as he knew very well from past experience. This trip, however, was much slower in its progression. Danny was far from his prime, and it took a prolonged clandestine stop at a University of Pittsburgh Medical Center location to bandage his wound before he could continue. He took shelter overnight in a vacant hotel room nearby, one of the advantages of having ghost powers to get him past locked doors.

For the rest of his voyage, Danny had elected not to use his powers of flight in order to remain off the grid. He wouldn't put it past his parents to have already deduced his alter ego; they could be oblivious, but they were frighteningly intelligent and had new evidence with which to work. It would only take a misplaced hesitation from Sam, Tucker or Jazz when confronted to confirm he was Phantom. Therefore, flying on as Phantom meant his was a mobile sitting duck. The semi truck carrying him was mercifully transporting mattresses to a warehouse near Gotham, so he was able to recline for a long stretch. Danny was still beyond exhausted when he finally walked the rest of the way into the city.

Clouds had been gathering all evening. They oppressed the already gloomy coastal city without a single break in their cover. The billowing forms were ablaze with the orange glow of streetlights, packed so thick that one might think they could topple the darkened skyscrapers on impact. Lightning was infrequent, but its strikes and following claps of thunder never failed to rattle Danny to his core.

He was lost.

He was very lost, both emotionally and literally. He didn't know who or what to trust after everything that had transpired that weekend. His parents weren't his parents, nevermind the fact that they probably now knew his double identity. His doppelgänger/twin/clone/life model decoy original was either a billionaire socialite's ward or apprentice to the most intimidating hero on the planet, or both. And now, he was aimlessly meandering the sinister streets of Gotham.

Danny moaned in despair as the rain wasted no time in soaking his jeans and t-shirt completely. He began to wander aimlessly, just as directionless geographically as he felt in his heart.

His current surroundings weren't good; that was the only thing of which he could be certain. The aging brownstones from some decades-old urban projects towered over Danny as he sulked down the streets. He could no longer distinguish between tears and raindrops. An occasional local passed him, though they seemed far more afraid of the bandaged teen than he was of them.

Fast approaching midnight, Danny turned yet another corner and failed to notice a small group of figures in rain jackets up ahead. He merely trudged along, eyes glued to the raindrops' ripples in the puddles at his feet. So it was no surprise when, moments later, his shoulder jostled one of the figures as he passed. Unfortunately, Danny's mind was miles away, somewhere between Gotham and Amity.

"What, no apology, kid?" demanded the man, in his early twenties by the sound of his voice. Danny walked on, so the man turned to his friends. "C'mon, let's teach the little twerp how things are done around here."

Suddenly, Danny was pulled into an alley by the back of his shirt collar, and he jolted out of his stupor, now panicking at his situation. They thrust him against the wall and watched as his reddened eyes widened and ragged breath quickened into near-hyperventilation.

The man he'd bumped aggressively pointed a finger into Danny's face. "What made you think you could just shove your way past me, huh, kid?"

"I-" Danny's voice broke, husky from all the tears. "I didn't mean anything, I w-was just distracted."

He poked Danny's sternum, hard. "You don't get to mess with White Shark, twerp. You get to thank us for letting you live another day. But tonight, though, I feel like your tributes are overdue."

"I don't even live here. I-I mean, I don't have any money with me…"

"I'm sure, kid. I think we can work something out, can't we, fellas?" The main aggressor's friends chuckled.

"B-but I have nothing left! Nothing, okay? Please, just-" He sighed defeatedly and finished in a quiet tone, "just let me go."

The man smiled.

Danny doubled over in pain as the first blow struck his abdomen. A successive kick dropped him to the ground where the thugs continued to assault him. Blood trickled from his nose and his wounds while the dirty drainage in the alley mixed with the pure rainwater already soaking his clothes. The gang's strikes felt like they went on for hours, but it was mere seconds later when the attacks ceased.

The alley went silent apart from the continued pitter-patter of rain on the pavement. A pregnant pause hung in the air before the thuds of falling bodies met his ears. Danny hesitated before uncurling himself and looking up. Even in the shadows of the alley, Danny could see the small glints of light off the darts protruding from each of their necks. He moaned and rolled over to lay flat on his back amongst the fallen, electing to stare up into the clouds above instead of trying to stand. This was his fate, he decided: an overlooked, unwanted teen in the slums of a city far from his home, laying amongst the hopefully-not-corpses of the local gang. It was depressing and defeatist, but with the onslaught of rain continuing to drench him, it sounded far better than trying to stand with the amount of emotional and physical pain he currently faced.

"You okay, kid?"

Danny lolled his head over and saw a single figure standing at the mouth of the alley. A solitary flash of lightning illuminated the scene for a fleeting millisecond, but it was enough for both boys to recognize each other. Danny's savior was tall and well-muscled, his sleeveless red and black uniform showing off the definition in his arms. The hero's bangs hung low, shadowing his scruffy face in a way that made the white eyes of his domino mask seem almost luminous. A large bow rested in his left hand.

' _Just what I need: more superheroes,'_ Danny whined mentally. "Speedy?" he croaked.

The gruff anti-hero rolled his eyes. "My name's been Red Arrow for years. But you know that better than anyone, don't you?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb with me, Grayson. I _know_ who you _are._ "

"Oh, no, not you too," Danny moaned.

"I have to say, you're the _last_ person I expected to find getting mugged in the projects," Red Arrow said, crossing his arms.

"Well, you still haven't. I'm not Dick Grayson," Danny retorted as he struggled to sit up.

"…You're not?"

"No, I'm-" he hesitated "-someone else. Danny."

"Coulda fooled me." Red Arrow reached down to help him stand. They grasped forearms, and Danny stood shakily. The younger's nose was bleeding and clothes were torn, the bloodstain from Jack's ecto-blast making the fresh damage look worse than it was. "You don't look too good. You staying near here?"

"I guess." He wiped his nose on his arm and frowned at the blood it left behind on his skin. He let the rain wash it somewhat clean and looked up at Arrow defiantly.

"Where?" the vigilante prodded.

"…Somewhere." Danny felt his previous emotions return and broke eye contact in guilt.

"You don't have anywhere to go, do you."

Danny's reply was a defeated shrug.

"Wait a minute; if you look this much like Dick Grayson, then you must be the Danny Fenton kid on the news. So what are you doing here in Gotham?"

"I'm looking for someone."

"Who?"

"M-…myself," he sputtered defeatedly.

Roy's heart twinged in pain and anger at the sentiment. It was something with which he was intimately familiar: the turmoil of not knowing who or what you are. Far beyond the soul-searching of a struggling teen fresh out of high school, Roy had no idea who he was, is and should be. After all, his entire (albeit short) life had been a lie.

"My entire life is a lie."

Roy started at Danny's words having echoed his own thoughts. "What do you mean?"

Danny found himself unable to dodge the truth anymore. It began to bubble up without restraint, secrets and poker faces be damned. "I found out I'm not my parents' actual son, but even they didn't know. And I thought the _accident_ threw me through a loop. Now I don't even know what's going on. But now I have no real family, no phone; my own father shot me, for god's sake!" he cried, gesturing to his side. "What the hell am I supposed to do? What am I anymore?"

This was getting far too close for comfort. Red Arrow passively adjusted his quiver. Surely this couldn't be another clone like him, grown for sinister purposes but with a mind of his own. "Cadmus?"

"Cad-what?" Danny asked.

' _So, hopefully not a Cadmus clone then. Well, that's something,'_ Roy thought. He then said aloud, "So what's your plan, run away and become a vigilante archer? Been there, done that."

Danny couldn't help the small smile that briefly illuminated his gloomy face. "I can't figure out what to do next until I know more about who or what I am. I'm not—I'm not…normal."

"What do you mean? What do you _need?"_ Roy asked before he realized what he was saying. He had enough on his plate, what with the ongoing solo search for the real Roy. Helping a runaway struggling with his own emotions would only prove to be a distraction.

Danny sighed and, avoiding Red Arrow's gaze, nervously rubbed his left elbow. "There are only two people who can help me find answers right now. Do you know where I could find either Dick Grayson or Robin?"

Roy smirked. "Are you thinking you're a long-lost twin or something? Sounds a bit cliché and teenage-angsty, if you ask me."

' _More or less.'_ "I'm keeping my options open. But anyway, _can_ you help?"

Danny stared at him so intensely that he felt as if Danny's very soul were on display. He looked so lost, so desperate. Roy sighed inwardly. If only it were that simple, but he couldn't bare facing his longtime friend and fellow crimefighter. After everything that had happened on the Watchtower the year before, a great crevice had grown between them, a crevice which couldn't be traversed so easily.

But amidst his turmoil, an idea sparked in his mind. He checked the time—just after midnight, a perfect time to visit a high school student with *nocturnal extracurriculars*—and smiled.

"I know someone who can."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another tidbit of the hospital scene! Some of you may have figured out that the 'squawk' of a noise Danny heard in the segment he observed was in fact Dani trying to call out 'Vlad.' "What on earth happened after she left?" I hear you ask. "The answers shall soon [eventually] be made apparent," I reply.
> 
> In case you forgot, here is a quick recap of what Danny saw: At the start, the Fenton baby is in blue and the Graysons are in yellow and red, yellow having passed away already. At the end of the part Phantom observes, Fenton is in red and the Graysons are in yellow and blue. But clearly, it wasn't *Fenton* in blue to start, but the other *Grayson.* Confusing, I know. Just wait till you hear the whole story.
> 
> Not too many Easter Eggs this chapter. You may have noticed:
> 
> \- Tucker referring to the mayor's red landline. This is a nod to the trope where city officials had a direct line to the local superheroes, like the mayor in the Powerpuff Girls, the commissioner in the original Batman show, etc.
> 
> \- Another cameo from Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir character, Officer Roger Raincomprix, albeit a brief mention.
> 
> Fun fact: Need for Drama is apparently an actual personality trait identified by psychologists.
> 
> Anyway, it's Danny and Dick's birthday next chapter! This is probably the largest deviation I am making from true Young Justice canon, since Dick's birthday falls on December 1 according to the accompanying comic series. Dick Grayson was originally supposed to have been born on the first day of spring; I am using this original date instead for the sake of this story.


	10. Golden Rule

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly could spend months perfecting the first scenes of this chapter because the interactions between Roy, Danny and [the person he's taking Danny to see] have such wonderful narrative and character depth potential. Alas, we must keep the story moving along and keep publishing on schedule; I will do my best to include them more later on.
> 
> Fair warning, this chapter is not as *gripping,* per se, but there is a lot of character dynamics and setup for what is to come.
> 
> Chapter 11 is going to be quite exciting, I assure you. ;)

It had been plaguing Artemis for a week now. She was almost certain that the 'annoying little troll' at Gotham Academy and the 'annoying little troll' on her team were one and the same. But, there was very little she could do.

There was an unspoken guideline amongst heroes, a "golden rule" of sorts, that one never outs another hero's identity, even to themselves. Any small change in behavior around either Dick or Robin would risk confirming who he was to the rest of the team, each member clearly having their own suspicions after Danny's arrival.

The only other teammate who had been there when Danny broke into the cave was Aqualad; well, Wally was too, but she would be surprised if he _didn't_ know Robin's identity with the way they acted around each other.

But while Aqualad didn't _officially_ know, he was morally upstanding enough to not even discuss the similarities between Robin, Dick Grayson, and the wild card that was Danny Fenton. Any attempt at broaching the subject was swiftly diverted before any of the other teammates could become suspicious.

This was the dangerous grey area of having a dual identity. Other people can easily see the resemblance; they are not blind, nor are they oblivious. The safety net on which heroes fall is truth being stranger than fiction. A circus-orphan math-geek media-loved socialite moonlighting as the serious, aloof protégé to the leader of the Justice League? Preposterous; positively preposterous. Very nearly as preposterous as this truth meaning the billionaire playboy caring for Dick and sponsoring her attendance at Gotham Academy was Batman.

Artemis was…not even going to go there.

It was close to 11:30 PM now, but Artemis had just finished the last question on her calculus homework and was getting ready for bed. Already in pajamas, she brushed her teeth and walked back down the hall to her room as quietly as possible.

The second she switched off her overhead light, two shadows formed in the window, silhouetted by the street lamps outside. She jolted minutely but quickly composed herself since this was not the time to forget her training. With only her bedside lamp providing illumination, Artemis grabbed a baseball bat for defense and cautiously approached the drapes. _'3…2…1…'_ she counted down and then threw back the curtains.

She instantly recognized the taller figure as her former rival. Artemis rode the wave of emotion which took her all the way from relief to heartbreak to confusion and anger. She tossed the bat onto her mattress and unlatched the window so he could come inside.

"I have a door, you know," she greeted drily.

"You also have a mother who's too curious for her own good," Red Arrow replied and quietly stepped down off the ledge. He then made room for the second figure. "Besides, I brought a friend."

When the second, smaller boy came inside and slipped into the light of her bedside lamp, both he and Artemis recognized each other instantly. "You?!" they both cried. Artemis paled slightly when Danny, who had only met her in her uniform and mask, obviously knew who she was. He seemed just as nervous and reluctant to call her out, almost as if he understood the so-called golden rule.

"You know each other?" Arrow prodded accusingly.

"Yes/No," they answered, Danny in the negative. They both thought to correct themselves. "No/Yes." Both grimaced. "Sorta?"

Artemis decided to play dumb just in case Danny still had any doubts. "I go to school with him. Besides, doesn't half the world know who Dick Grayson is?"

"Oh, come _ON,"_ Danny hoarsely whined. "I'm _not_ Dick Grayson!…I don't think."

Arrow quirked an eyebrow at him then turned back to Artemis.

"This here's Danny, but he is _looking for_ Dick Grayson, or the Boy Wonder, and I know you know at least one of them," Arrow insinuated knowingly. "Can you be a doll and get them in touch?"

"Why don't you?" Artemis prodded. "You know them just as well as I do."

"You know why," Arrow growled, suddenly aggressive. "I- I can't."

"Yes, you can, and you should," she answered unfazed, then sobered and pulled him aside. "I know he cares about you. They- _we_ all do."

"He shouldn't."

"Roy," she whispered and made to continue before she was interrupted.

"That's _not_ my name," he murmured.

"Look, _kid_ ," she acquiesced as cynically as possible, pulling him a bit farther from Danny, "you are still you. Okay? Maybe you were supposed to have been someone else, but ever since then, you've lived your own life. Made your own decisions. Become who you wanted to be."

"I became who _he_ wanted to be," Red Arrow spat. "Nothing about me is original. Not my skills. Not my motivations. Not my preferences. Nothing."

Artemis sighed. "It's a…unique situation," she said, unsure whether to keep her arms awkwardly hugged to her torso or reach out to place a comforting hand on Roy's shoulder. "Though we both know your drive to _rescue_ the original Harper probably doesn't come from Cadmus. Could prove…inconvenient for them."

At the thought of seriously destroying some Cadmus facilities and causing significant setbacks for Luthor in his continued search, Roy let the ghost of a half-smile dance across his features before he schooled them back into position. In a moderately normal tone, Roy continued, "Got any first aid handy? Kid got pretty beat up."

Artemis smiled and, doing what she thought normal people would do if this were a normal heart-to-heart conversation, allowed her right hand to finally stretch out and give Roy's upper arm a small squeeze. The discussion would have to continue another day. "Stay here," she ordered and left the room.

"How do you know Artemis?" Red Arrow asked.

"How do _you_ know Artemis?" Danny countered.

"I asked first," Arrow growled.

"I asked second."

Arrow groaned. "You two were made for each other."

"Who? Dick, Robin, or your best bud Artemis?"

"All of the above. We've seen each other around. Your turn."

"We've seen each other around," Danny parroted. Arrow's permanent frown deepened, but he internally smirked at the return of wordplay to his life.

"Murdering each other won't help his wounds get any better," Artemis quipped as she reentered. She tossed the kit onto the bed and rummaged for some antiseptic and bandages. "So what's the deal?"

"Do you wanna tell her, or should I?" Red Arrow asked as Artemis unflinchingly stripped Danny's t-shirt to get at the wounds. She clicked her tongue at the injuries and began peeling away the cloth.

"I-I'm having a bit of a trust and—and identity crisis," Danny said.

"You're not the first doppelgänger in history, you know," she commented in a dry tone.

"No, but after I got in-" He paused and glanced at Red Arrow. "-s-somewhere where I shouldn't be able to, I started to wonder. Then my parents did a DNA test and found out I'm not their son, so I ran away."

"What, did they shoot you as you ran?" Artemis joked. But, upon noticing Danny's crestfallen expression, she added, "Wait…seriously?"

Danny's head bowed, though he lifted his arm to provide her easier access to the new wounds. "My parents are… They over-react. They hunt ghosts."

"And they thought you were a ghost?!"

"'s what happens when you have ectoplasm in your blood," he quipped.

"When you have _what?!"_

Danny's eyes darted between the two others before returning to the floor. "Long story."

Artemis and Roy shared a silent look and ultimately decided to move past it for now. "Well," Artemis said, "I don't know about Robin, but I go to school with Dick Grayson. I guess I can take you to his house."

"That—that would be great. Thank you," Danny said.

"Sure. It's not like I cared about tomorrow's Calculus midterm which is worth 20% of my grade, anyway."

* * *

"So, you think you're related to Dick Grayson?"

"Honestly," Danny replied over the roar of the motorcycle engine, "I'm pretty sure I'm his clone. Though…I can't tell you why…"

Artemis did, but Robin would kill her if she spilled the beans about his secret identity to a civilian under suspicion.

"I hope I didn't blow your cover back there," Danny continued.

"Red Arrow is already _very_ aware of who I am, thank you very much. But I appreciate the gesture."

"What's his deal anyway? He didn't talk much on the way to your place."

"He's a clone, too," she answered frankly. "It's not exactly a secret since it comes from Cadmus' pre-reform days, but the Justice League doesn't like to broadcast it. Get it?"

"Got it."

"Well, that's Dick's house up there," she said and nodded to the right. A massive, opulent Tudor mansion sat atop a hill at the end of a long, winding driveway. Lawns sprawled around it leading to the waterfront and surrounding forests.

Artemis slowed her bike to a halt at the mansion's wrought-iron gates and pressed the call button on the intercom. After a few moments, a distinguished Englishman spoke.

" _Are you children even remotely aware of the concept of time? The notion of day and night?"_

"No, but I'm a big fan of time merely being a human construct," Artemis quipped rolled her eyes, thankful for the privacy her motorcycle visor offered. "Look, please just tell Dick Grayson that a couple friends from Gotham Academy need to see him, and that it's an emergency."

There was a moment of silence. The Gothamite shifted in her seat on her civilian motorcycle, Robin's doppelgänger straddling it behind her. Their ponchos were doing little to protect them from the raging storm. Finally—

" _Proceed to the main entry."_

The intercom disconnected, and the gates swung open. Artemis revved the engine and blasted up the long drive to the imposing mansion. She parked at the foot of the sweeping steps and led Danny to the front door after securing his helmet to the bike. Before they could even grasp the cord of the ancient knocker, the carved wooden door swung open.

"Artemis!" Dick exclaimed with a touch too much surprise. He turned to her companion who hung his head. "Danny?!"

Danny looked up pitiably from behind his drenched bangs. "The one and only. Heh."

"What are you two doing here? Do you have any idea what time it is?!" Dick scolded.

"I think you can guess," Artemis answered.

"Yoooouuuuuu need more calculus tutoring?" Dick suggested.

" 'We'll laugh about this someday'?" She nodded at Danny then gave Dick a meaningful look.

Dick's surprise immediately gave way to understanding and mirth. "Come on in, Arty."

"You know I hate that name," she muttered. The soaking duo trudged inside.

"I _thought_ you'd figured it out," Dick said, completely ignoring her comment. "Well…welcome home!"

The noise of the storm ceased with the slam of the door, replaced by the crackle of a distant fire. Wayne Manor's entry hall was as grand as could be. Twin staircases cascaded down either side, framing a massive chandelier in the center—Murano glass, most likely; the Waynes were known to have visited the islands surrounding Venice during Bruce's youth. A large set of doors to the right were cracked open with an orange glare flickering from behind it.

A butler emerged from a dark corridor and relieved Danny and Artemis of their outerwear. The three teens went into the lounge with the fire and sat down around a tray of hot cocoa. _'Man, that butler works fast,'_ Danny thought to himself.

"So, Danny, what brings you all the way to Gotham City on a rainy Monday night?" Dick asked.

"Well…uh…" He looked around the room; for motivation, guidance or courage, he would never know. He finally made eye contact. "I found out something about my family. Turns out, I'm not one of them."

"What, like they don't love you?"

"No, like _I'm not their son!_ " he snapped, causing the others to flinch under his sudden intensity. Danny wilted and fortified himself with a long sip of cocoa. "Sorry. But I'm not adopted either. They don't know anything about who I actually am, because they've thought I was a Fenton all this time. But I'm not."

"Oh." Dick glanced at Artemis—who shrugged—and back at Danny. "So, why did you go to Artemis?"

"Actually, I came looking for you. But I, uh, left in a hurry. …Okay, I ran away, and I left my phone. Then I got cornered in an alley, but Red Arrow saved me from the muggers."

"Red's in town?" Dick murmured to Artemis, who nodded.

"I told him I was looking for you or Robin, and he took me to Artemis' house," Danny continued.

"So, why us? What can Robin or I do to help?" Dick asked.

"I don't know who I am anymore. I don't know where I came from. So, I thought I'd start here because I think *one of you*-" he stressed "-may be my brother or…something?"

Dick thought. "Well, Bruce is, uh, *asleep* right now, so why don't I talk to him in the morning and see what we can find out? Until then, do you need a place to stay?" Danny nodded. "Well, then, I'm sure Artemis wouldn't mind giving you the spare bed in her room, would you, Arty?"

"Oh, come on!" she whined. "You live in a _literal_ _palace_."

Dick laughed. "Chill, Artemis! I was only joking. We have 20 spare bedrooms, so you can take your pick. I'll show you my favorite, though. Artemis, do you want to stay too? It's storming pretty bad."

"Share a house with the most aggravating twerp at Gotham Academy and his photocopy? I don't think so. Besides, Mom would freak if I wasn't home when she wakes up." She stood and downed the rest of her cocoa in a single gulp. "But know this, *wonder boy*: our conversation is _not_ over."

"Sure thing, Arty. Here, I'll walk you out." Dick set down his own mug and stood. As soon as the pair were out of earshot, he continued in a hushed tone, "How did he find you? Did he really figure it out that easily?"

"No. Well, not really," she answered. "Roy found Danny getting beat up in an alley and he asked for you or…well, _you,_ so he brought Danny to me. Danny recognized me on sight."

"So, Roy's in Gotham?"

"Apparently, yeah. He's keeping it together, but…he's not looking good. A little rough."

"The League calling off the search hit him pretty hard," Dick pointed out. "That's the sad side effect for clones: the lingering obsessive tendencies."

"He feels _guilty_ , Dick," Artemis said. "He replaced the actual Roy Harper and no one is willing to work any more to bring the original back. Is that really so surprising?"

"No, I guess not," Dick conceded. "Well, thanks for bringing him here, Artemis. Now we can keep a closer eye on him. I owe you one."

"Oh, boy, _do_ you," she agreed with a humorless chuckle and retrieved her helmet from the table in the entry hall. "And seriously? 'We'll laugh about this someday'?"

Dick smiled. "We will; just you wait."

"Yeah, whatever," Artemis said, pulling on the helmet. "See you around, bird brain."

Once Artemis had left for home, Dick went back to the lounge where Danny waited on a sofa near the fireplace. He was a pitiful figure, exaggeratedly gaunt and frail in the dim flicker of the flames. "Hey man, I don't know about you, but I'm ready to go to bed," Dick said.

Danny wordlessly stood and chugged the rest of his hot chocolate.

Dick led his guest upstairs. "Okay, so most of the guest rooms are up here. My room's down there at the end of the hall. All of them are nice, but I'd personally take one on this side." He gestured to the right. "They have a nice bay view in the morning. This one down here next to my room has the nicest bathroom." He opened the door and flicked on the light switch.

The room was half the size of the Fentons' entire second story. Danny couldn't help but marvel at its opulent decor. The bed was already turned down and ready to be slept in. A set of towels sat at the foot of the bed. "Wow. This is…amazing. Thank you," Danny said.

"No problem! Alright, I'll go raid my closet for some clothes for you, since something tells me we're the same size." Both boys inwardly laughed at the inside joke they couldn't openly share yet. "Then I'll see if Alfred has any emergency Christmas underwear gifts still lying around since I'm not gonna share _that_ much with you."

"Alright. You know where to find me," Danny answered.

Dick disappeared into the shadows of the hallway. A nearby door opened before a second pool of light spilled into the hallway.

Danny walked over to the window and thrust open the curtain. Despite the storm, he could see the entire bay and city of Gotham. City lights danced on the tumultuous water and sparkled in his eye. It was such a beautiful, serene picture of the world, an illusion that everything was fine.

It wasn't.

Danny couldn't help but crumble inside as his emotions overtook him once again. He sank into the plush mattress and slumped his shoulders, unable to stop his tears from gathering once more. A rush of emotionally-charged warmth swelled under his skin.

"Hey Danny," Dick spoke softly from the door, "you okay?"

Danny looked halfway over his shoulder before quickly rubbing his eyes and sniffing to clear his nose. He straightened his back and answered, "Yeah, f-fine," without making eye contact.

Danny heard Dick set a small pile of clothes on a lounge chair before coming over to the bed to sit next to Danny. Both boys stared out at the bay in silence.

"What were your parents like?"

Dick smiled when rose-tinted memories flooded his mind's eye at Danny's question. "Oh, they were fantastic. So loving, so supportive. Dad was the coolest. I think he was more comfortable sailing through the air without a net than he was walking on terra firma. Both of them were awesome acrobats; the sight of them took audiences' breath away. And Mom? She was the kind of person where you wouldn't misbehave just because you didn't want to see disappointment mar her beautiful smile…"

"That sure is poetic," Danny commented.

"Yeah, it was-" Dick sucked in a short breath "-it was part of my eulogy."

Danny found himself slightly overcome. "Wow," he croaked. "I didn't know kids could be so eloquent. You were, what, eight?"

"Nine. Alfred helped."

"Ah."

"What about yours?"

"I don't know anymore," Danny admitted. "They're both scientists, if you can call it that. Spectrology, study of ghosts."

"Sounds cool."

"It's not." Danny glared out the window. "They were mocked by the scientific community, and the whole town thought they were just lunatics. But when you're a kid, you don't really know that. You just see their passion and think anything they do is awesome. Until eventually, you grow up, you start listening to talk, you start thinking for yourself until you realize- ...Do you know what it's like spending half your childhood wanting to be like your parents, then spending the second half getting bullied and wanting to disown them?"

Dick shrugged. "We never got the chance for me to reach the age where I hated my parents…"

"Oh…yeah. Sorry."

Dick shook his head in dismissal.

"Thing is, once the portal started working, things got even worse. They started thinking everyone was a ghost. Even my sister. Even…me."

Dick hid his mirth at the potential irony.

"That's why I ran. When they ran my DNA and saw I'm not related, Dad thought I was a ghost who had taken his son's place. He aimed an ecto-gun at me, so I panicked and ran, and he-" Danny let out a single sob "-he shot me as I ran."

"Is that why-"

"My shirt's all bloody? Yep." Sniffling, Danny chuckled humorlessly and pulled at the fabric. "Dad's usually a terrible shot, but he didn't miss this time."

"Oh my god," Dick said. He jumped up and lifted Danny's shirt to inspect the wound. Danny flinched and pulled back.

"Please just leave it. I'm tired of getting fussed over."

"If you say so," Dick conceded with a sigh. "Though Alfred is a master at patching up wounds at this point. As the son of an acrobat and ward of a billionaire with far too much money to spend on dangerous toys, I've sure given that butler enough practice."

Danny smiled. They both knew there were other activities causing Dick to get injured. But, he'd let Dick have this one, too, for now. "I'll keep that in mind. Thanks."

Dick woke up his smartphone and checked the time. "Oh my gosh, it's already almost one AM! I have to get to bed. Big day tomorrow. Or, well, *today.*"

"Why? What day is it?" Danny asked.

"Tuesday the 20th. My birthday, actually!"

"…Oh. Mine, too," Danny mumbled and slumped once more.

"No kidding! There really are too many coincidences when it comes to us. Well, allow me the first to wish you Happy Birthday, Danny." Dick pulled his guest into a quick bro-hug.

"Yeah, same."

"We'll have to work on that enthusiasm," Dick joked. "So I have a driving test first thing, then school all day followed by a mathlete thing to celebrate; the _real_ party is supposed to be this coming weekend. So you'll have to make do with Bruce and Alfred till I get back. Hopefully they can help you start figuring out what's going on, and then we can celebrate your birthday too when I get home!"

"Thanks, man. For…for everything. For the clothes, for giving me a room for the night, for not calling me crazy or blowing me off…"

"Dude, don't worry about it," Dick said. "Besides, we might be family or something! I can't wait to learn all about you and your family."

If anyone could ever embody the smiley face emoji, it would be Dick in that moment.

"Good night, Danny. Sleep tight. Oh, and the laptop on the desk has a guest account so you can use our wifi if you want. I know you said you don't have a phone, so this way you can stay connected."

"Um…thanks." Danny knew instantly that the device must be bugged. But, he could at least contact Tucker to let him and Sam know he was safe and hopefully about to get some answers. "See you in the morning."

"See you. And remember: I'm right next door if you need anything."

And with that, Danny was alone. The opulent room was certainly an improvement over the motel room the night before. Heck, it was an improvement over his own bedroom without question. Danny stripped to his boxers and grabbed the towel, taking a nice, long shower before re-dressing his injuries and emerging into his new room. He created a fake Gmail account in a private window and composed a quick email to Tucker, leaving it as anonymous as possible since he knew Tucker could find the answers himself without leaving a digital paper trail for the police to find Danny.

_[I have reached my destination and have been given shelter. Hopefully I will get some answers over the next couple days, if they play ball._

_-Clueless One]_

* * *

It was just past a quarter to 8:00 when Danny first stirred the next morning. A little over six hours' sleep is normally insufficient for teenagers, but for the boy who regularly stayed up late or woke up early chasing ghosts, it was practically sleeping in.

As consciousness gradually overtook him, Danny remembered he wasn't in his own bed. This was a cloud, a massive expanse of comfort and softness which enveloped him in its warm embrace. It was such a peaceful awakening that Danny was unsure whether the past couple days, past _week_ had happened; but, his mere presence in this foreign bed confirmed it.

It took him a few moments of sitting on the edge of the bed and staring out over the bay for him to fortify himself enough to stand and get dressed in the clothes Dick lent him. He opened the bedroom door and realized he had no idea how to navigate the mansion's expansive corridors.

Immediately, Alfred's disembodied voice played over an intercom installed…*somewhere.* _"I trust you slept well, Master Daniel."_ The hallway's overhead canister lights illuminated one by one in rapid fire, creating a chasing pattern traveling down the corridor and to a distant staircase. _"A recent addition to the household's systems. Do follow the lights, unless you would prefer a game of 'Hot or Cold.' "_

Danny slowly walked down the hall following the path of the lights until he arrived in the kitchen.

Dick was at the breakfast bar just finishing his French toast—an 'unhealthy' luxury only allowed because of the significance of the day. "Hey! Good morning, Danny!"

"Mrnin'," he mumbled still half-asleep and shuffled to the empty barstool next to Dick. Alfred emerged from the butler's pantry and began putting together another plate of French Toast.

Dick swallowed another bite and said, "Happy birthday proper. You got here just in time. I'm leaving in a couple minutes to go to the DMV."

"Great."

"Don't worry; Alfred will still be here to keep you company," Dick encouraged.

' _And keep an eye on you,'_ all three present knew went unsaid.

"Perhaps you might assist me in planning a small get-together of our own this evening, Master Daniel?" Alfred suggested, placing the food in front of their guest. "We would hate for you to feel excluded on your own birthday."

"It's just Danny, actually," Danny corrected. "But, yeah, sure, I guess."

Dick slid out of his seat and passed his dishes to Alfred. "Hey Al, when Bruce gets here could you please tell him I'm getting my paperwork from my room? I'll be back in a couple minutes."

"Certainly."

"Do you have any birthday traditions of your own, Danny?" the butler asked once they were alone.

Danny shrugged. "I dunno, not dying is usually at the top of my list." At Alfred's slightly scandalized, if not concerned expression, the boy added, "My parents' have always struggled to keep their scientific experiments limited to the lab. Sometimes they test the use of ectoplasm in 'culinary applications.' Basically, they put ghost guts in the food and it comes to life and revolts."

"Well," the Brit sputtered, "I assure you I won't try to animate any of _our_ food, sir."

"Sounds like it's already shaping up to be my best birthday ever," Danny quipped.

Footsteps approached behind Danny. "Dick, are you ready yet?" someone asked.

After a beat of silence, Danny realized the newcomer—obviously Bruce—must have mistaken him for Dick; not a surprise, given their identical appearance and the fact that Danny was currently dressed in his doppelgänger's clothes. He swiveled in his barstool and began, "Oh, I'm not Dick, I'm Dann-"

It was at this precise moment when Danny's brain fully awakened. It determined this would be an optimal time to endow Danny with a realization which should have occurred to him a week ago. If _Dick_ was _Robin_ , then Bruce Wayne must be-

"BAT-!?" Danny fumbled and realized his mistake. "Uuuhhhh, I mean... _battery!_ Better check if your phone battery is charged, in case you want to take photos when Dick gets his license! But yeah, I'm, uh, I'm Danny." He inwardly grimaced at the faux smile he offered the man.

The two older men looked amused, but Bruce decided to show mercy. "Thanks for the suggestion, Danny. I'll charge it on the way. But, welcome to our home!" he said. "And happy birthday!"

"Thanks! But how did you know already? Wait, of _course_ you know already, because you're _you_. I mean, Dick must have told you?"

"Let's go with the last one," Bruce said bemusedly and patted Danny on the shoulder before striding past. He then addressed Alfred, "I think we'll take the AMG GT. We don't want to show off, but we also don't want them to forget who we are. Then, after he brings us home, we can surprise him with the M4."

"A wise decision, sir," the butler agreed and retrieved the appropriate key from a labeled cork board.

Danny's eyes bulged at the sheer number of keys hanging on the wall. "How many cars do you _have?!_ " he asked before he knew what he was doing.

"Just twelve," Bruce answered, the poster boy for nonchalance. "Well, twenty-seven, but fourteen are reserved for concours d'elegance appearances, and one is Alfred's."

"A humble Range Rover," Alfred clarified. "Perhaps it would be wise to finish chewing?"

Danny realized his jaw had been slack and snapped it shut.

"Master Dick will return once he has retrieved his paperwork."

"Perfect." With a smile, Bruce turned to Danny and clapped a hand to his shoulder. "I hope I can trust you to behave yourself until I get back?" he asked jokingly.

Though with the strength of Bruce's grip, Danny was certain there was no joke about it. "I-I'll do my best...sir."

"Bruce," the man corrected and released his grip. "Please."

"Bruce," Danny repeated with an expression more akin to a cringe than a smile.

* * *

Not even exhaustion could keep the victorious smirk from Tucker's visage when he came to school the next day.

Sam immediately noticed. "Did you get in?" she asked, brimming with hope.

Tucker slapped a printout down on her desk in Mr. Lancer's homeroom. "I got in," he answered cockily.

Sam picked up the page—a map with three pinpointed locations—and scrutinized it. "Unbelievable. You actually did it."

"Don't sound so surprised," Tucker grumbled and sat down. "Anyway, based off of accessibility, levels of security, and total square footage, these are the three most likely holding facilities where the Light took Vlad: an agricultural research facility in the middle of nowhere in Kansas, a skyscraper under construction in London's Banking District, and a converted oil rig off the coast of Cape Cod. All we have to do is figure out which one experiences increased activity and electrical usage over the next day or so."

The warning bell rang, heralding the approach of other students and their teacher.

"Okay, look, I trust in your *mad* hacking skills and all, but how the heck are you going to find _this_ out?!"

"I'm not." He stretched and yawned. "I'll just wait for Batman to figure it out and then we can follow along."

"As if-" Sam leaned in and spoke more quietly when other students began filing in the room. "As if he'd just _tell_ us."

"He doesn't have to," Tucker said. "I'll just keep an eye on the 'Batfiles' for a little while."

"I doubt he'll be very happy that a random teenage geek hacked his _real_ system too," was Sam's final comment as classes began.

* * *

Bruce was happy to hear an incoming phone call, as it would alleviate his boredom waiting for Dick to finish his exam.

" _Master Bruce, I have just noticed an alert that the Batcave security was compromised last night. I don't suppose it's Master Dick getting up to no good again?"_

Bruce sighed. "I doubt that. Tucker Foley must be more capable than we thought, if he is the first person besides someone with daily access to be able to hack in."

" _Indeed. Our data logs indicate him accessing Cadmus' holdings with a focus on the Kansas, London and Cape Cod campuses."_

"Funny, those are what I considered most likely based on my _own_ research," Bruce mused. "This kid really is good. We'd better throw a scare into him and bring him onto our side once this business is settled."

* * *

"I hate to tell you, Mr. Baxter, that despite the vertebral structure of what we refer to as the 'tailbone,' we are not born with tails which are removed at birth like a Cocker Span-"

A phone call interrupted Mr. Falluca's biology lecture. He sighed, rolled his eyes, answered it and said, "Yes? …What, both of them? Now?!" Another sigh. He glanced over the class. "Very well. I'll send them at once." He hung up. "Mr. Foley, Ms. Manson, please collect your things and report to the administration office."

The two shared a worried look before doing so. Outside, Sam asked, "What do you think's going on?"

"Aw, man, there are so many people we could be in trouble with right now, how would I even know?" he whined.

"Don't be such a defeatist," Sam scolded.

"Says the goth."

"Touché."

The Fenton parents were perhaps the last people Tucker expected to find waiting for them. He thought it would be the police, or Cadmus goons, or maybe even Batman himself. Mrs. Fenton stood when they entered.

"Ah, Mr. Foley, Ms. Manson," Mr. Lancer greeted. "The Fentons have requested to speak with you regarding young Daniel's disappearance. I trust you will be cooperative in trying to bring your friend home?"

The underlying threat was not lost on the teens. "Yes, Mr. Lancer," they agreed.

With a nod, the teacher left, leaving the teens and Danny's parents alone. There was an invisible line drawn down the center of the room. On one side stood Maddie behind Jack, who was seated in a chair and resting his elbows on its arms. On the other, Sam perched on the edge of the chair while Tucker stood like a protective sentry behind her. The teens did their best to appear nonchalant.

"How can we help you, Mr. and Mrs. Fenton?" Sam asked with as much faux cheer as she could muster; quite a lot, after enduring her mother's etiquette-focused upbringing. "We don't know where Danny is, if that's what you wanted to ask."

"Kids, you can drop the act," Maddie began, fatigued. "We saw the lab's security footage from the day of Danny's accident. We know what happened, and we know you were there."

There were a few long beats of panicked silence before the dam burst.

"We wanted to tell you, honest, Mrs. F!" "Danny was so scared; of _course_ we weren't going to tell you-" "It was all our fault, not his, -" "-'molecule by molecule'-" "He was just trying to impress Sam-" "-worked so hard to protect him _from his own parents!"_ "-fragile psyche ever since, according to Jazz-" "How screwed up is that?! A boy, afraid of-" "-the news broke him and-"

"ENOUGH!" Jack barked, and the room fell silent once more. He leaned forward and continued gruffly, "Some punk replaced our son, and we are _going_ to find out who. But first, we have to find the boy who we _know_ as our son, and you two have been interfering. So, give us Phantom's ectosignature. We know you have it."

"We don't know anything about it!" Tucker protested.

"You expect me to believe that?!"

"We don't have it! I don't even know how the file got deleted!"

Jack smirked.

Sam smacked Tucker's arm. "Idiot! He never said it was deleted."

"Oh…" a mortified Tucker said.

"Hand it over, Foley, so we can find that half-boy _thing_ pretending to be our son!"

"N-no! I mean, _no_ ," Tucker repeated a little less feebly. "Of course not. You guys are just going to hunt him!"

"Jack, dear," Maddie said and rested a hand on her husband's shoulder, "why don't you go ask Mr. Lancer to bring us some coffee?"

Jack, taking the hint, looked between her and the defiant teens before sighing deeply and leaving the room.

Maddie took his place in the chair, shifting it a little closer to Sam and Tucker. "Listen, kids, I don't blame you. I'm hurt, but I don't blame you. Given the circumstances, I probably would have done the same thing," she admitted. "But, I really want to find Danny and let him know that we only want to figure out the truth, and that he's not alone and we still love him."

Bemused, Sam crossed her arms and sent a meaningful look towards where Jack had gone with a quirk of her eyebrow and pursing of her lips.

Maddie sighed and shook her head. "Jack's…struggling with this. He was always a proud man and a proud father, and to have been fooled for so long by who he thought was his own son has not been easy for him to realize. Plus, him shooting Danny was largely a misfire."

"Alright, let's say we _did_ have Phantom's ectosignature," Sam proposed. "What do you plan on doing with it?"

"Find Danny and show him he has our love and support. He's all alone out there."

"No, he's not," Tucker corrected without thinking.

"Tucker!" Sam moaned and smacked his upper arm again. "You are the worst negotiator in _history!"_

Maddie's eyes widened. "You know where he is? You know who he's with?!" she demanded.

"Well, I can't say for _sure_ , but…" Tucker looked to Sam who merely scoffed and shrugged her shoulders. "We think he was headed to Gotham City to find Dick Grayson. I got an anonymous email last night saying he arrived and found shelter. But you're not going to find him."

"Why?" Maddie asked, disheartened.

"Even if you _did_ have his ectosignature, he's probably staying in human form to literally fly under the radar. His ectoenergy is too compressed to register as anything beyond a simple blip of residual energy."

Maddie harrumphed. "You kids sure know a lot more about ghosts and our technology than we thought."

"We have to," Sam spat with a glare.

"Anyway," Tucker continued, "I figure that if we temporarily boost the Fenton Satellite's sensitivity and re-enter Danny's ectosig, it will be able to find him instead of him just blipping as a residual energy amongst thousands of others. But-"

"But if we do that," Maddie interrupted, going into full scientist mode, "it will deplete the energy reserves and it will have to recharge for hours. I suppose we can use it to get to his general location first, and then again to pinpoint him once we're there. This could work! Tucker, this is the first good news I've had in days!"

"Yeah," he said dejectedly.

Maddie sobered and leaned in. "Tucker, Sam, I admire your fierce protection of our son. But please remember that we're on the same side now. We can work together as one."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Sam said. "Just don't vivisect him and maybe we'll think about trusting you."

Maddie visibly shuddered.

Tucker took out his laptop and a USB. He downloaded a file to the thumb drive before handing it to Mrs. Fenton. "Here's my spare USB. I'm sure you know what to do from here."

"Yes, I do."

* * *

The person known as Red Arrow typically kept to himself, during daytime especially. As a civilian, he was more or less indistinct and could blend into a crowd and at least attempt a normal life. It was only in his other identity where his sense of self suffered. The League never explicitly said they were monitoring him; it was merely an unspoken agreement that they would keep an eye out, for the benefit of everyone involved. After all, Miss Martian had already tried to eradicate any lingering evidence of Cadmus programming from his mind.

It was on his best friend's birthday that Roy needed groceries, superhero or no. He went to the local market, as usual, and came back with his hands full of bags. Unlocking the door to his safe house, Roy bumped the door open with his hip and hooked his foot behind him to close it. Immediately, he knew he wasn't alone.

"I thought you were off of babysitting duty," he grunted and set the bags down in the kitchen. Roy then leaned against the counter overlooking the living room and scrutinized the uninvited guest waiting on his ancient sofa.

"Doesn't mean I don't occasionally serve as the Light's social worker," Sportsmaster quipped.

"Look, I can't beat your ass because I need to put away the groceries, so how about I don't, we say I did, and you go on your merry way?"

"Can't do that just yet," the intruder replied. "First I need some information."

"Who said I know anything?" Roy asked, putting a box of cereal in the cupboard and grabbing the pistol hidden inside.

"I like to keep an eye on my little girl. Make sure she stays on the *straight and narrow,*" he explained sarcastically. "A father notices when his daughter starts receiving gentleman callers in the middle of the night."

"I just needed to borrow a cup of sugar," Roy said. He toyed with the pistol's safety.

"Look, kid, we both know I only need to say two little words to find out whatever I want. But that method takes longer, and I don't like waiting for anyone."

"Ha! You really think 'Broken Arrow' will still work on me? I had my brain cleansed after New Year's, genius."

"Doesn't mean I don't have my ways, punk. Now, last chance: fess up. Tell me what you know about the Fenton kid."

"Never. What do you want with him anyway?"

"You want to be difficult then? Very well." Sportsmaster produced an arrow from his personal arsenal and snapped it in half.

Unfortunately, Miss Martian's mental cleanse had not been thorough enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, there you have it. That heart-to-heart between Dick and Danny was one of the earliest scenes I drafted when developing this story. I believe this is iteration number 5... I still feel like it could use something more, but whatever.
> 
> That last scene there, Sportsmaster uses a visual of a literally broken arrow to send Roy into hypnosis...in case you hadn't deduced what that meant.
> 
> No real easter eggs this week. The "Yes/No/Sorta" exchange at Artemis' is a direct rip-off of the dialogue in the DP Secret Weapons episode because it is one of the best pieces of dialogue in televisual history and you cannot convince me otherwise.
> 
> BAD NEWS FOR AO3 READERS: I have finished the cross-posting process from Fanfiction, so this story is now up to date. The chapters will update once a month from now on instead of one or two per day. (Though chapter 11 is due for publishing next week, so you won't have to wait too long!)


	11. Hot Pursuit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit shorter than the other chapters, but jam-packed with thrill! It took a lot of mental picturing to make sure everything was choreographed well.

 Dick couldn't help but be antsy throughout his mathlete party. No matter how badly he wanted to, checking on the runaway twin-slash-clone hiding at home was not exactly an easily explainable excuse to leave early. Instead, he resolved himself to a tedious evening.

Though of course, this resolution only lasted until he received a call from one of the few numbers with a personalized ringtone.

_Held up here, it's a silent fear/And this space don't take my mind_

"Sorry, guys, family emergency," Dick said and hurriedly grabbed his things. "Thanks for the party!"

_A cloudy wake, it's a young mistake/That I'm clothed in_

In the privacy of the hallway, he answered the phone. "Roy?"

" _Urgh,"_ was the only reply.

"Roy? You okay? What's wrong?" Dick insisted, walking faster to the parking lot.

" _Man, I forgot how much hypnosis messes you up,"_ Roy grunted.

"Hyp-? But I thought Miss M cleaned you up?"

" _Thought so too,"_ Roy said. " _I guess there were fallbacks so deep even *she* couldn't find 'em."_

"Who was it?"

" _Sportsmaster again. He's been surveilling the Crocks and knows I went there with Fenton, so he came looking for me."_

"Shit." Dick found his car and jumped inside, switching the phone call to Bluetooth. "So, how much do they know?"

" _Everything Danny told me. That he's on the run and knows he's not related to his parents, and that they didn't know either. *And* they know he's looking for Dick Grayson and Robin."_

Dick powerslid his birthday present—a brand-new BMW M4— onto the main street. Traffic laws meant little to the Wayne household on most occasions, but tonight there was no regard whatsoever. "So you think they're on their way to the manor to get Danny?"

" _Without a doubt. For whatever reason, it seems like they're rolling in the heavy artillery for this one. Whoever that Danny kid is…they want him bad."_

"Thanks for the heads-up. I'll alert Bats (plural? I thought only Batman and Robin were active in Gotham at this point in time.). Do you need extraction?"

" _No, I—I'm fine,"_ Roy stammered.

"We could really use your-"

" _Pizza's here. Gotta run."_

The call disconnected before Dick could prod further. He sighed, resigning himself to confront this issue another time. He instead began dialing Bruce.

"Come on come on come on…" Dick muttered. Bruce's phone and communicator rang endlessly. "Damn it!"

He steered the M4 up an onramp and onto Trigate Bridge, expertly weaving around traffic in the way of his trajectory. The twin turbos of the engine whistled through the gears as the sports car rocketed across the river towards the Palisades.

"Call Alfred," Dick instructed the car's onboard computer. Two rings later and the call connected. "Alfred."

" _Sir,"_ came the reply.

"Where's Bruce? He's not answering his phone or communicator."

" _Master Bruce is otherwise engaged with League business at the moment. May I be of assistance?"_

"I just heard from Red Arrow that the Light is on their way to the manor in search of Danny. Have him get ready for a quick escape; I'm coming in the M4."

" _While I appreciate the exuberance one feels on the first day in possession of a driver's license, might I suggest changing into…*alternative attire* suitable for your more agile transportation options?"_

Dick glanced out the window. A bright flash of lightning in Gotham's perpetually forming storms unveiled a trio of helicopters headed towards Wayne Manor. He gave a deep sigh before replying, "Good idea. I'll be there in five minutes."

" _He shall be ready in four, sir."_

Dick disconnected the call and held his thumbprint on a subtle panel integrated into the steering wheel's grips. A moment passed, and a thin crimson line swept across the digital displays of the car, replacing the stock system with Batcave-derived graphics.

" _All systems ready,"_ the computer spoke in an emotionless female voice.

"Auto-valet," Dick commanded.

" _Auto-valet initiated. Temporary autonomy engaged."_

With that response, the car took control of its systems and reclined the driver's seat. Dick quickly stripped out of his school uniform, and the car's hidden mechanisms automatically replaced the garments with his typical Robin uniform. The seat readjusted to its original position while a hidden compartment in the visor opened, producing a domino mask primed with spirit gum. After applying it to his face and mussing his hair, all semblance to his polished alter ego had vanished. He gripped the wheel and ordered, "Return control."

" _Autonomy disengaged."_

The steering wheel jumped in his hands when the computer relinquished command. As he turned into the Batcave's secret entrance, Robin was not at all surprised to see a parade of armored SUV's and racing bikes approaching the manor's main gate from the opposite direction.

* * *

Alfred found their guest in the south conservatory overlooking the bay. "Master Daniel-"

"Please, Alfred, how many times do I have to tell you it's-" Danny froze when he turned around and saw the stately butler carrying an assault rifle "-Danny. Um…Alfred?"

"Apologies, Master Danny. It appears that some nefarious fellows are descending on the manor in search of you. I have been instructed to prepare you for a rapid departure with our local hero's protégé, Robin." The butler produced a motorcycle helmet and jacket and tossed them to the boy. "You will have to borrow Master Dick's set, I'm afraid. I hope you don't mind."

"Where is he?" Danny tested as he quickly put on the jacket.

"…Safe," Alfred replied after a momentary delay.

Danny's eyebrow quirked.

Suddenly, the pair heard a cacophony of helicopter blades over the house. The conservatory's windows rattled under the force of the displaced air outside. Just beyond the French doors, an engine revved as a light shone through the glass. Danny hardly had a moment to flinch before a heavily modified, red Ducati Panigale motorcycle shattered the doors and drifted sideways to a stop, curtains billowing behind to amplify the drama of the protégé's entrance.

"Get on!" Robin barked.

"This wasn't made for passengers!" Danny protested.

"Do you really think that matters?!"

Danny quickly complied, and the pair sped off into the grounds.

Alfred sighed as he observed the shattered remains of the doors. "It _had been_ unlocked…"

* * *

Robin and Danny encountered an immediate barrage of enemy fire as soon as they re-entered the gardens. Robin dipped and swerved the motorcycle amongst the sculpted shrubberies as countless bullets and energy blasts flew past them.

"What the heck is going on?!" Danny shouted over the noise.

"You tell me!" Robin replied over his shoulder. "They're after you!"

"ME?!" Danny flinched as a passing tree exploded into wood chips. "What did I do?!"

"How did you get into our secret base?!" Robin countered. "You're a mystery, Danny Fenton, one that EVERYONE is trying to figure out!"

The Panigale burst through the forest onto the winding road leading back to Trigate Bridge. The identical heroes made it a couple hundred meters before the first wave of the enemy's vehicles broke through the trees in hot pursuit.

"I just want to know who I am, dude!"

"You and me both! And apparently, the Light as well!"

"The what?!"

They wove around the last car waiting to cross the river and launched onto the bridge at full throttle. Danny heard more motorcycle engines rev and, glancing over his shoulder, saw a handful of the enemies' Kawasakis jump over civilian vehicles and bounce onto the roadway.

"A secret terrorist organization. They've been a thorn in the League's side for years," Robin explained.

"If they're so secret why are you telling me?"

"You oughta know who's trying to kidnap or kill you!"

"Fair point."

The first two of the helicopters trailed them in tandem on either side of the bridge. A third swooped over the roadway and chased the pair from between the superstructure supporting the bridge. A cannon fired, and Robin dodged the bike to the side just in time to escape a net.

Danny began to question how beneficial it would be to keep his ghost powers secret any longer.

"How good of a shot are you?" Robin asked.

"I-uh…" Danny hesitated. "I'm better with my hands," he answered cryptically.

"You ever shot a flare gun before?"

"I've seen my dad do it before."

"Good enough." A panel on the side of the bike opened with a beep and hydraulic hiss. A single, thick-barreled pistol jiggled in its restraints. "Aim for the copters. They're heat-seeking, so you just have to get close."

Danny, wide-eyed, took the gun in hand. "I don't want to kill them!"

"Don't sound so disconcerted! It'll just disable the propulsion!"

Danny took a deep breath. "Well, if you insist. I'll do my best to stay *concerted.*"

Robin looked over his shoulder just as they passed the midpoint of the bridge. With a smile, he said, "Maybe we _are_ related."

Danny rolled his eyes and aimed at the left-hand helicopter. He disengaged the safety on the gun and fired. A tiny rocket whizzed through the air and connected magnetically to the copter's turbine. Danny successfully fired at the right-hand copter as well as the one pursuing them over the bridge's roadway itself. Once all three projectiles had connected, a light on the gun turned green.

"Is something supposed to happen now?"

"Is it green?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, press the button on the side!"

Danny did so and flinched when all three helicopters' turbines exploded simultaneously. All of their blades disconnected—embedding into the roadway or falling into the river—and let the fuselages plummet to the road or water below. Slack-jawed, Danny looked on in awe.

"Damn."

"You get used to it," Robin commented.

Danny replaced the gun in its holster, and the panel shut once more. The Kawasakis launched over the helicopter left smoking on the bridge and continued pursuit.

"We still have bikes on our tail-"

The helicopter burst apart as the first of the armored SUV's pushed through.

"-a-and some cars."

"Don't worry, I know Gotham like the back of my hand!" Robin hopped the curb to take the first right corner a little tighter. Two streets ahead, elevated train tracks cut across the street. "Huh…that's new."

"What?!"

"Kidding, dude! Stay whelmed."

Without slowing down, Robin banked left and continued straight for a few blocks, darting to and fro as necessary to avoid the remnants of Gotham City rush hour.

Feeling the first drops of rain, Danny hazarded a glance back once more. They had almost a block between them and the first bikes, but their pursuers were gaining once more. "They're still on us!"

"Great." Robin threw on the brakes and took an immediate right, taking them straight towards the heart of the Financial District. He pressed the comms button on the handlebar. "Robin to cave, requesting extraction. Does anyone copy? …Robin to cave, do you copy? …Damn it! I forgot M'gann and Connor have a senior ball planning committee meeting tonight, and who knows where the others are. So, no backup. Even greater."

"Hey, man, stay *whelmed,*" Danny said with a bubble of laughter. Robin's wordplay was…unique. Danny primarily relied on puns in his battles.

Not that he could share this fact aloud without giving himself away.

"Where are we going anyway?" Danny asked.

"Uhhhh…TBD."

"Great," Danny muttered.

Another armored Chevy Tahoe turned onto the street ahead of them and began gaining speed to match Robin and Danny's. As the boys approached, a minion leaned out the rear left passenger window with a machine gun and began laying down fire. Robin quickly dodged around to the Tahoe's right side and pulled up alongside.

"Hey, have you ever driven a motorcycle before?"

"Like, once?"

"Awesome! Grab the controls for a sec, would you?" Robin asked.

"What?!"

But Robin was already on the fuel tank, perched on the balls of his feet. He leapt off the bike onto the roof of the Tahoe. Robin took an eskrima stick from his back and extended a point from the end. Seconds later, the sunroof was smashed and Robin had disappeared inside.

Danny, meanwhile, leaned forward from his seat and kept a grip on the accelerator. With one eye on the road ahead, he tried to watch what was happening through the darkened glass.

Jolt, coast. _Jolt,_ coast. Massive swerve, as the SUV tried to correct its course. Danny darted out of the way, narrowly missing a compact sedan in his haste. One shadow darted around within the larger vehicle while the others flailed. The right front passenger window splintered but didn't break due to its reinforcement.

The right rear passenger door flew open with Robin's torso dangling out. The caped protégé gripped the arm holding him out and roughly pulled his current aggressor out onto the road in Danny's path. Danny didn't have time to correct before running the man over and struggling to maintain control of the Panigale.

"Sorry!" Danny shouted over his shoulder; though with the oncoming traffic, the man had far greater concerns.

Danny looked back to the Tahoe just in time to see Robin wrap his right leg around the passenger seat's headrest and pull himself back in, shutting the door as he went. Another jolt, and the SUV was accelerating hard away from Danny.

With the aid of rocket propulsion, something shattered the front windscreen and lodged itself into the road fifty feet ahead. Robin backflipped out of the sunroof, arcing through the air just as the Tahoe struck the object—one of Robin's escrima sticks, apparently—and front-flipped over the buckling vehicle. Robin bounced off the undercarriage and, in one fluid motion, retrieved the eskrima stick and sailed through the air towards Danny with a gleeful smile on his face.

With hardly a second to react, Danny slowed just enough for Robin to grab his shoulders and swing around onto the back of the bike as they continued away from the wreckage of the SUV.

"You wanna take it from here?" Robin asked.

"Oh, please, god, no!" Danny screamed. "You take it; I just ran over a guy!"

"In your defense, he _was_ a bad guy. Hold still." Robin placed his palms on Danny's shoulders, pulled himself to a handstand, and held his position for a few moments. He then teetered forward and landed back in the driver's seat.

"You were just showing off," Danny groaned.

"I was taking the opportunity to appraise the situation behind us and see how many pursuers we still have."

"You were _showing off._ "

"A bit."

* * *

"Hold this course," Maddie ordered from the Fenton RV passenger seat. "He's headed down the next cross street at 80 miles per hour, and should appear…now!"

On her mark, a blur rocketed across their path, careering towards downtown. Jack swung the vehicle around and roared after it.

"Too bad we had to wait for the satellite to recharge before focusing its scope," Jack complained. "We could have caught him by now."

"Don't you mean 'caught up to'?" Maddie asked with an undisguised growl.

Jack merely grunted and rolled his eyes in reply. His uninhibited driving style allowed them to catch up within a few blocks. Jack reached for the loudspeaker and activated it. "Phantom! Please halt such that we may converse!"

This time, it was Maddie who rolled her eyes. She took the microphone and added, "We wish to cooperate and prove we are on the same team!"

The figure looked back at them and hesitated.

* * *

"Shit, they're right on us!" Danny exclaimed.

Spurred on by the omnipresent Cadmus and Light vehicles, Robin glared at the road ahead with constant mental adjustments to their path. Their Panigale roared on through downtown and towards the other end of the island. Block by block, the rain built in intensity and soaked Danny to the bone. Robin's uniform, on the other hand, seemed to be water-resistant.

Without warning, two more black motorcycles turned from opposite directions on a passing side street and flanked the two heroes. Danny tensed while Robin accelerated harder, but the Kawasakis and their single riders had no trouble keeping up. A screeching above them drew the boys' attention upwards. A small shower of sparks cascaded from an elevated train in front of them.

"Hey Danny, you ever seen _Speed Racer?"_

"Why?!"

"I'd tell you to hold tight, but I can barely breath as it is!"

And that was all the notice Danny had before the bike literally leapt off the roadway. It sailed diagonally through the air and used one of the passing building's façades as a springboard to leap once more. The bike landed on the roof of the train, fortunately heading in the same direction, and used the train's speed to boost its own.

"How the hell-?! _What_ the hell-?!"

"Magnetic suspension," Robin explained, hopping between carriages. "Electromagnetic fields cause metal shavings in the fluid to realign and give a boost in stiffness. Batman made it a little more…boosty."

"Well, at least we might get away now," Danny drawled.

Only for an untouched helicopter to swoop down and join the pursuit.

The front of the train approached before they knew it. Robin boosted them once again towards a ledge to their right before springboarding the bike into a 450-degree spin, sending them shooting off down a left side-street. The helicopter was temporarily gone, but their road-going pursuers soon reappeared on their tail.

The Ohioan looked over his shoulder once more. It seemed that no matter what maneuver they tried, the Light was going nowhere. "I can't take this anymore!" Danny shouted over the roar of the Panigale.

"Can't take what anymore?" Robin asked.

The time for pretending was over; Danny resolved himself to end the charade once and for all. ' _I guess it's time to get lost.'_ "Does this thing have an autopilot?"

"Duh. Even has a hard light hologram generator."

"I'll pretend like I know what that is. Activate it."

"Okay. Calibrating…"

Small mechanical arms extruded from the sides of the bike and scanned the riders. They disappeared with a 'beep.'

"Ready when you are. What's the plan?" Robin asked.

"The plan?" Danny repeated. He grimaced. "Try not to freak out. Or vomit."

"What do you-?"

But Robin was cut off. There was a brief flash of light behind him before the world suddenly swirled in colorless mystique around him. He felt a harsh pull against his midsection as he was pulled back and _up_ from the bike. The hard light hologram immediately activated in their absence as they began to fly _through_ a passing skyscraper and up to the roof. He landed and immediately whipped around to face Danny.

In his place was Danny Phantom, awkwardly rubbing his left elbow with his hand.

* * *

 

"You—You're not Danny!" Maddie exclaimed and immediately unholstered her pistol, though for once she didn't aim it on impulse.

"Well, of course I'm not Danny Phantom," the girl scoffed. She cocked a hip and crossed her arms. "I'm _Dani_. With an 'I.' "

"Dani? W-what connection do you have to our son?" Maddie insisted.

"I don't know what you mean. I know Phantom, not your *fleshbag* twerp of a son," she jabbed.

"Drop the act, punk," Jack ordered. "We know the boy we know as our son is Phantom, so tell us what's really going on!"

Dani faltered. "I guess I'm not surprised you guys know by now. You guys really suck, by the way."

"We're working on it," Maddie huffed. "Now, look: Danny's friend gave us a file with his signature so we could find and help him, and it led us to you. Care to explain?"

Dani touched an index finger to the corner of her mouth in faux innocence. "Well, gosh, it looks like he gave you the wrong 'Phantom' signature, then, didn't he?"

Maddie and Jack glared in the general direction of the Foley residence.

* * *

Danny and Robin shared a quiet moment where a million thoughts raced through both teens' heads.

"I knew it!" Robin cheered with a pumped fist. He removed his helmet, Danny's apparently gone with his transformation. "Kid Flash owes me twenty bucks."

"Um, dude? You're, like, loaded."

"I don't know what you're talking-"

"Dick, I'm getting _really_ tired of this song and dance."

Robin appeared to look Danny up and down from behind his mask. "Fair enough. Sure, I might have money, but the fact that _Wally_ will have to shell out most of this week's allowance makes it so much sweeter!"

Phantom smirked ruefully and changed back to Fenton.

Suddenly, Robin tensed and held a hand to his ear. "Miss M, thank god! Where was everyone?" A pause. "Fine. The Light is now in pursuit of Danny. We are in the middle of Gotham and could use an extraction… Copy. Sending you coordinates." He dropped the hand from his ear and quickly typed on his wrist computer. "Well," he said to Danny, "here comes the cavalry."

"Great," Phantom replied shortly and transformed back to Fenton. "Now, are we gonna talk about this?"

"Which 'this?' There are a lot of 'thises,' " Robin answered with air quotes.

Danny felt incredulous. "The fact that I'm genetically identical to you? The fact that I looked back in time and found out I'm actually your twin? The fact that I'm a secret superhero? The fact that *you* ar-that _we_ are _both_ secret superheroes?! The fact that there's an entire underground network after me?! The fact-"

"Okay, I get it!" Robin snapped. "Look, we can't find out anything by getting upset. So chill out till M'gann gets here and-"

"Chill out? Chill _out?!"_ Danny started pacing. "My life was already crazy with the ghost powers, but over the course of the past _week_ , I got into a Justice League base, figured I was probably a clone since I got past zeta security, accidentally learned Robin's AND Batman's secret identities, had my identity stolen who knows how many times, dealt with my overly suspicious scientist of a mom, found out I was a _twin_ and not a Fenton _at all_ , got attacked by my own dad, ran away from home, got attacked in an alley, and had to run for my life from a secret evil organization which I didn't even know existed! I think I'm pretty far beyond 'chill out.' "

Robin sighed. "Danny, in this line of work, it never helps to lose your cool. You have to keep a level head to stay in control."

"Cut me some slack! My whole life has completely fallen apart, okay?!" The rain, unrelenting, poured in rivulets down his face and plastered Danny's bangs to his forehead. "I-I can't do this! I need-"

"Yes you _can_ do this!" Robin snapped. "All it takes is practice and discipline."

Danny turned on his heel and briskly stormed across the roof to face Robin again. "No, I can't! I _can't_ do it! I have no control over what's happening. No matter what I tried to do or thought I could do…I'm powerless," he finished. Danny seemed to lose his steam all at once and suddenly wore a gaunt expression. He cupped his hands over his mouth and sank to the roof, eyes wide in unseen horror. "Oh my god, it's happening again, isn't it?" he squeaked. "It's happening all over and this time there's no undoing it. There's no evil me to send back to the future… Oh my god oh my god oh my god-"

Robin seemed to overcome his confusion at Danny's sudden change in attitude. "Wait, what are you talking about?"

"It was-" Danny collapsed further. "No, it can't- Clockwork stopped it before but I can't now-oh my god," he finished with a whine and pulled at the hair on his head.

"Danny, you have to tell me what happened—what's _happening!"_

"I watched my entire family die at the hands of my future self," he said and began sobbing. "Th-they were—there was nothing I could do. They just…boom! Right in front of my eyes! Dead!"

Robin sobered. "I think I know what that's like."

"No you don't!" Danny shouted. "You don't know what it's like to watch everyone you love die at once! To just _stand_ there while your family is wiped from existence."

Robin, his patience thinning, wore a temporary scowl. "I saw my family plummet to their deaths right in front of me when I was _nine,_ and as you can see, it was much more permanent," Robin said, his words dripping with sass.

"O-oh…right," Danny said. He took a deep breath and suddenly looked down at himself. He sniveled loudly and wiped his eyes on his forearm. "S-sorry, I—I forgot who I was talking to for a second. Just—just ignore all that."

After a moment of silent appraisal, Robin smiled sadly. "You know, when this is all over, I could set up some one-on-one sessions with Black Canary? She's kinda the team therapist."

Danny appeared sheepish. "I don't know…"

"I didn't even mention the time my entire team and most of the world's population die in a hypothetical apocalyptic scenario. Canary helped with that too," Robin added. "We all have scars, Danny. And yeah, I guess the two of us have more unique ones than most. But you know what? We _are_ secret superheroes. We _deal._ So pull yourself together, man. We need to stay calm to figure all this out."

Danny searched Robin's face for a moment before swallowing and nodding. He looked away and mumbled, "Sorry, it's-… It's been a long few days."

Robin sighed and shifted to sit next to Danny and lean against an air conditioning unit. It had certainly been a long few days for everyone involved. "So, you looked back in time, huh? We're really brothers?"

"Y-yeah, the master of time is kinda my guardian…"

"No shit," Robin mused in amazement. With another glance around, he took a deep breath of coastal air and appreciated the glistening beauty of their urban surroundings, interrupted only by the patter of rain on their clothes and the distant lull of evening traffic far below them. Robin quietly threw an arm around Danny and pulled him into a side hug. "Nice to meet you, bro."

Danny hesitated a moment before returning the hug, letting out a quick huff of a laugh. "Nice to meet you."

Robin pulled away at the sight of a distantly approaching bioship. "Alright, you're about to meet a Martian. Just…don't stare, and try not to drown in her enthusiasm."

* * *

This week's references and easter eggs:

\- "I know this place like the back of my hand! ...That's new..." is a line from the classic animated movie Robots. RIP Robin Williams

\- The song is A Maker of My Time by the Paper Kites, a song about not knowing who you are. See what I did there?

I am loving your feedback and loyalty! Thank you so much!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This week’s Easter Eggs:
> 
> \- reference to the movie Robots (“I know this city like the back of my hand! ...Huh, that’s new.”)  
> \- Maker of my Time by the Paper Airplanes (the song set as Roy’s ringtone. It’s about not knowing who you are anymore...see what I did there?)


	12. Rescue and Ruthlessness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> UPDATE JUNE 24: Sorry, guys, slight delay in posting chapter 13 because I have a final presentation of a massive design project on Wednesday. Hopefully I can get it out this Friday, but in all likelihood it will be next week. Sorry!
> 
> \------
> 
> Next week marks 1 YEAR of publishing Recognized and I am blown away by the reception and wide readership I have received. Thank you so much for encouraging me in this, my outlet of frustration and emotion which cannot be vented in my 'real' life.
> 
> Chapter 12 is significantly longer than chapter 11 (very nearly double the length) because a lot happens very quickly. I'm afraid I must warn you to keep a tissue box nearby if you are prone to expressing emotion in a tearful way... Man, Kid Flash is fun to write, especially when- well...you'll see. :]

As the bio-ship approached the rooftop, Danny's eyes began to light up. "Wait, that's not for atmospheric travel…"

"Nope," Robin confirmed and slapped a hand on Danny's slackened shoulders. "That's a Martian bio-ship."

Before he could elaborate, the ship pulled up above them and dropped ropes to the roof. The two teens grabbed on and were pulled aboard. A green-skinned girl jumped out of her seat to greet them.

"Hello, Danny!" she said with a smile splitting her face. She took his hand and aggressively shook it. "I'm-"

"Miss Martian!" Danny interrupted. "Protégé to Martian Manhunter! This is so awesome! I've been wanting to meet you guys since I was a kid! Well, _Martian Manhunter_ since I was a kid. You haven't been here that long, obviously. At least, I don't think so. But ever since I decided to become an astronaut, I-"

"Whooooaaaa, clearly I was worried about the wrong person's enthusiasm," Robin chuckled and helped remove Miss Martian's hand from Danny's grip. The bio-ship shot off towards Happy Harbor.

M'gann, though, was undeterred. "Wow, it is so nice to meet a fan!" she chuckled. "My uncle and I sometimes get overlooked because we're not one of the big guys everyone knows, you know?"

"Are you kidding?! You guys are the best!" He noticed Robin's bemusement. "I mean, you're cool too, _obviously_ , but-" he waved his arms wildly at M'gann and failed to whisper "-she's from _outer space!"_

Robin merely shook his head and sat down. "Try not to drown in _his_ enthusiasm, M'gann."

"This bio-ship is 'from outer space' too," Miss M added. "She responds telepathically to my commands and can shape-shift to my current needs. Right now, for example, a compact speeder is all we need."

"So legit! Do all Martians look just like humans except green?" Danny asked, eager as a small child.

M'gann's smile drooped. "Um…no. A large part have red eyes and bald heads." She glanced to Robin who offered a shrug and a small nod. "Actually, I don't look like that either. This is just how I choose to represent myself on Earth to be less intimidating."

"Oh," Danny said, slightly confused. "So, if you don't mind, what do you really look like?"

M'gann sighed. "It's pretty scary for most people. I don't know if you would want-"

"Miss Martian, please," Danny leveled. "My friends and I binge-watch the _Trinity of Doom_ , _Cyber Zombie Commando_ and _Dead Teacher_ series all the time."

"Well, don't say I didn't warn you." Miss Martian transformed into her true white Martian form and anxiously rubbed one of her now-many elbows.

Danny couldn't speak. Not out of horror, but of utter awe and fascination.

"I think you broke him, M'gann," Robin quipped.

This seemed to snap Danny out of his trance. "Epic! Oh my gosh, Miss M…you look so awesome!"

"R—really?"

"Totally!"

"Green Martians discriminate against white Martians back home. We are…lesser, in their eyes."

"Not in mine," Danny assured. "You are currently the coolest person I have ever met."

M'gann transformed back to her green self and smiled.

"Hello, my name's Robin, I'm a protégé vigilante-slash-your long-lost twin brother, and I _exist._ "

"Yeah, yeah."

* * *

"Alright, go ahead and wait in the common area," Robin said as the trio disembarked from the bio-ship. "I'll go see about a change of clothes so I can get my motorcycle gear back."

"Thanks."

Danny followed M'gann up to the kitchen and living area where Superboy, Artemis and Aqualad were already waiting. Upon reaching the room, everyone turned his way. Megan said, "Hey, everyone. You remember Danny."

"Hey again," Danny greeted with a small, awkward wave. He hovered in the corner and shrunk under everyone's gaze.

"Welcome home," Artemis drawled.

"Danny, do you want some cookies? Fresh baked!" Megan offered from the kitchen area.

"Um, yeah. Thank you." He took one from a telekinetically hovering plate and inhaled it in one bite.

"So you just can't seem to stay out of trouble, can you?" Artemis quipped. "We're going to have to put a 'Hello My Name Is' sticker on Danny so we can tell you all apart."

" _Recognized: Zatanna B08."_

"This is turning into quite the party," Superboy added.

Danny turned around at the sound of high-heeled boots clicking down the corridor. Approaching was one of the most beautiful girls he had ever seen, a raven-haired seductress sashaying towards him in a trouserless female interpretation of a tuxedo. Upon making eye contact, she gave a dazzling, confident smile and said with half-lidded eyes, "Happy birthday, sexy."

The next thing Danny knew, she had thrown an arm around his neck and pulled him into the most passionate kiss he'd ever received. Danny tensed before positively _melting_ into it.

"Hey, um, Zatanna?" Artemis started amongst a spattering of suppressed snickers.

Zatanna removed her lips from Danny's and turned to face the room. "Way to kill the moment, Artemis," she said with a teasing smile.

A resounding thud echoed through the halls.

"I don't believe you've met Danny Fenton, _Robin's genetic duplicate_ ," Artemis continued and gestured to the boy, who had collapsed and now stared at the ceiling with a dazed expression. "Hey, Danny, you doing okay down there?"

"Fi-" His voice broke, and he cleared his throat. "I'm fine," he finished in a squeak.

"He's- What- OH MY GOD," Zatanna exclaimed as realization hit her in waves. She kneeled down next to Danny. "I am _so sorry_ , I thought you were Robin! I mean, you look just like him, and—and I'm pretty sure those are his clothes, now that I think about it…"

Danny swatted away the hand she offered and pitifully wrestled his way up the side of an armchair, legs virtually useless. "Don't worry about it," he said, tumbling over the arm and plopping down in the seat.

Robin emerged from the corridor. "Hey, Zatann- Uh...Is Danny okay?" he asked.

"I'm so sorry, Rob, I thought he was you! You guys look identical!"

"Why? What happened?" he asked and looked around the room. Nobody seemed to want to make eye contact.

Seeing that Danny clearly wasn't recovering from his daze quickly enough to answer, Artemis answered after a short delay, "Let's just say she gave him your birthday present by accident."

' _Bigger fish to fry bigger fish to fry bigger fish to fry-'_ Robin chanted mentally while pinching the bridge of his nose. "Okay, well, it's time we address the elephant in the room," Robin said. "Some of you were present when Danny first came to the cave under my credentials. I have discussed this with Batman, and we have decided that you three—and the rest of the original team—might as well be privy to this information. But you must understand that this information does not leave this room. It jeopardizes our civilian lives and potentially thousands of people if this is not contained. Not even the rest of the League besides the founding members are allowed to know. Do you understand?"

He received a smattering of replies from everyone present.

"I—I am Dick Grayson. I would pull off my mask to show you, but this spirit gum takes a while to set," Robin continued with a short laugh. "Plus, I think him getting in with my credentials is evidence enough." He jabbed a thumb in Danny's direction. Danny grimaced sheepishly and avoided eye contact.

"I appreciate your decision to trust us with such sensitive information," Aqualad said. "But the question remains: If he is not you, who _is_ Danny?"

"We are apparently twins separated at birth. There have also been mentions of Cadmus' involvement-"

"I hate those guys," Connor growled. Everyone nodded in agreement.

"But," Robin continued, "nothing is confirmed yet. We only have suspicions."

At that moment, the television turned itself on, Batman on screen. _"Batman to cave: Mission briefing in five. Suit up. That includes you, Fenton."_ The screen went dark.

Everyone turned to Danny. Mystified, they asked in unison, "Him?!"

"Me?!" Danny responded.

"Batman must think you can help," M'gann said. "And what Batman says, goes."

Robin held out some folded clothes and a pair of boots. Phantom grasped the clothing and immediately recognized the symbol on the breast. Wide-eyed, he looked back up at Robin. "But—but I can't wear this! It's yours!"

"You're already wearing all my civvies," Robin joked. "It's temporary. Besides, you must have a lot to learn about theatrics still. Imagine the enemy's confusion when suddenly _two_ Robins are running around. Alright, everybody, suit up and meet by the zeta tubes."

Within a few minutes, everyone had gathered in the training area. The only way the group could tell the difference between the two Robins was observing Danny shift self-consciously within the skin-tight material.

Moments later, the computer announced Batman's arrival. It took him mere moments to notice something amiss about Robin. "Is that the prototype for Project Evanesce?" was his gruff inquiry.

"These are the only two suits available on site which will fit both of us, and I thought Danny should have the standard uniform."

Batman glanced at the second nearly-identical Robin standing awkwardly off to the side. His only acknowledgment of the boy was a severely critical hum. Batman then strode across the training pad and summoned the holographic displays, calling up a file on their mission.

"This is a simple search and rescue mission. Your objective is to extract Vladimir Masters, who was taken from his Amity Park residence yesterday evening."

"Wait, _Vlad?!"_ Danny interrupted.

"Yes. Cadmus vehicles were seen on-site, and witnesses speculated on the Light's involvement. Masters has been a Person of Interest to the League for years, and his sudden capture timed with the establishing of a connection between Fenton to Robin is suspicious."

"Witnesses?" Danny asked.

"Your friends, Tucker Foley and Sam Manson. Foley contacted the League with this information indicating that Masters' prearranged retrieval is in exchange for information about the recent security breaches here at Mount Justice. It is being treated as credible information given the circumstances, in addition to Foley's movements since I began monitoring him."

"But, _I'm_ the security breach. Why am _I_ going?"

"Regardless of your personal involvement in this situation, your abilities may prove invaluable in this recovery mission."

"Wait, _what_ abilities?" Superboy demanded.

"The boy we know as Daniel James Fenton is a metahuman," Batman stated.

The protégés immediately looked at the second Robin who shrunk under their disbelieving gazes.

"Way to just out me there, Batman," Danny said with a grimace. He anxiously rubbed the back of his neck.

"You get past _my_ security protocols, you possess identical DNA to _my_ protégé, your 'heroic' persona has a shaky reputation at best, and you exhibit a worrisome trend of declining academic performance and social standing," Batman growled, inching his way into Danny's personal space. "You currently have no right to secrecy with this team. Not when this entire situation apparently results from your actions and network."

Danny did his best not to cower into the cape hung over his shoulders.

Batman returned to the screens and pulled up satellite imagery. "We suspect the Light of having taken Vladimir to LexCorp's agricultural processing facility six miles east-southeast of Lebanon, Kansas. There has been an increase in activity for the past eighteen hours. Kid Flash has been alerted and will meet you on location.

"Get in, retrieve Masters, get out," Batman finished. "No confrontations, no unnecessary property damage. Refrain from your typical approach to 'covert' operations."

Danny noticed the gathered protégés all seemed to avoid making eye contact.

* * *

The majority of the journey passed in silence. Though of course, this was only from Danny's perspective. He watched everyone else on board exchange wordless yet increasingly passionate facial expressions. What Danny _couldn't_ hear was the telepathic argument raging.

Eventually, the protégés settled on sending Danny furtive glances while the bio-ship blasted across the eastern United States. It wasn't long before Danny finally snapped. "Come on, somebody just ask already!"

The rest looked amongst themselves before M'gann weakly played dumb. "Ask you what?"

Bemused, Danny quirked an eyebrow.

"What are you?"

Superboy's blunt question shocked everyone on board, but Danny fortunately expected it. "I'm half ghost. Powers are pretty much what you'd expect," Danny said.

"Can you density shift?" M'gann asked, suddenly eager.

"More like dimension jump, but yeah," he answered.

Next was Zatanna. "Invisibility?"

"Yep."

"Can you fly?" inquired Aqualad.

"Yeah."

"Can you possess people?" Artemis asked drily.

Danny grew awkward. "I mean…I don't _like_ to, but-"

"Wait, you can?!" Artemis exclaimed. "I was just joking!"

The true Robin leaned forward in his seat behind Danny. "Show them your anime girl transformation sequence," he muttered just loudly enough for the rest to hear.

"I do _not_ have an anime…transformation…" Danny trailed off at Robin's knowing smirk. Sure enough, all eyes were on him. "I'd rather not."

Suddenly, his seat morphed back into the floor, leaving him standing in the middle of the cabin.

Danny scoffed. "Alright, fine, I guess you'd see it eventually. I have two forms: this, which is my human form that I spend most of my time in, and…Goin' Ghost," he cried with a slight blush of embarrassment and let his transformation wash over him. When no one spoke, Phantom struck a half-hearted heroic pose and drifted just slightly into the air. "Ta-da?"

Zatanna was the first to break the silence. "Nice!"

"Very cool!" M'gann offered.

"Yeah, I guess," Phantom mumbled and transformed back into the second Robin. He sat back down once his seat reappeared.

"Approaching coordinates," the real Robin announced. "M'gann, bring us in to the rendezvous point."

"Affirmative."

The bio-ship slowed and banked before coming to a silent rest amongst some trees. Upon disembarking from the bio-ship, they noticed a flagpole on a stone plinth, visible only by the adjacent streetlamp due to the nonexistent moonlight.

"Where are we?" Danny asked.

"Two miles northwest of Lebanon, Kansas."

"Also known as the geographic center of the United States," a new voice added smugly. The group turned to see Kid Flash leaning faux-casually against the bio-ship. " 'Evening, everyone. How are y'all doin'?"

"KF, nice of you to make it," came Artemis' dry response.

"Are my eyes deceiving me, or are there two Boy Wonders?"

"You remember Danny," Robin introduced. "Also, you owe me twenty bucks."

Kid Flash's casual demeanor vanished. "You were right?" he asked, despondent.

"Yep," Danny said, popping the P. "Serves you right for _betting_ on me!"

"Whatever, dude," Kid Flash grumbled and handed a $20 bill to Robin.

"Alright, everyone, you know the task at hand," Aqualad spoke. "We are to locate and retrieve Masters with as little interference as possible. Robin?"

"Yes." The boy typed on his wrist computer and activated a holographic map of their surroundings. "Seven months ago, construction completed for a produce processing facility operating under one of Cadmus Laboratories' subsidiaries. Lead architects changed bi-monthly, a fact which we believe allowed Cadmus to modify the building plans without notice in order to accommodate less legitimate functions. This facility is currently twelve kilometers northeast of here off of US Highway 281." The hologram zoomed onto a cluster of industrial buildings. One building illuminated in red. "This silo adjacent to the main processing plant inexplicably shifted 50 yards south through the course of its construction. It is our first target."

"Robin, Artemis, Superboy and I are alpha squad. Kid Flash, Zatanna, M'gann and Danny, you are beta. Alpha squad will take control of security and identify any other suspicious spaces in addition to clearing a path— _quietly_ —for beta squad. Beta, you will wait on the periphery until you receive the all clear and then perform extraction. Are there any questions?"

"Yeah, shouldn't you call me… _not_ Danny?"

"Yeah, because 'Not Danny' _so much_ more discreet," Artemis jabbed.

"You know what I mean," Danny snapped. "I'm not new to the superhero gig. I know that going by your actual name isn't the best idea. Isn't it…*Artemis?*" He smirked.

"Touché," she answered with a petulant growl.

"What is your normal alter ego?" Aqualad asked.

"Danny Phantom."

Artemis snorted. "You're one to talk."

"It's a pun on my real name, alright? Nobody gets it because they don't know I'm not full ghost, obviously, but my friends and I—look, cut me some slack, alright? I'm half-dead."

Everyone grimaced.

"That's a joke. …By the way."

M'gann let out an awkward chuckle.

"Phantom also works," Danny offered. "Though I'm not in ghost form."

"Ghost?"

"Too cliché."

"Spirit?"

"I'm not a hippie."

"Inviso Bill?" Robin joked.

"Just…no." Danny rolled his eyes when he saw Kid Flash snickering to himself. "Look, I'm kind of Robin right now, and they don't know about my ghost powers. Well, _Vlad_ does, but…long story."

"Rockin' Robin?" Kid Flash suggested.

"Really? _Really?"_

"Sometimes heroes go with a color. Like Black Canary," Miss Martian suggested.

Danny looked down at himself, noticing the color dominating the uniform. "What, like _Red_ Robin?"

"Works for me," Kid Flash replied.

Everyone else shrugged.

"Very well. Your temporary call sign is Red Robin. M'gann, link us up."

" _Telepathic link estab-"_

"Holy crap!" Danny—or rather, Red Robin—exclaimed out loud and gripped his hair.

" _Our team communicates telepathically,"_ M'gann explained.

" _To avoid *detection,*"_ Kid Flash emphasized.

" _Sorry,"_ Red Robin offered.

" _Everyone, let's move out,"_ Robin instructed.

The team reboarded the bio-ship and covered the remaining distance. Soon, it loomed over the sprawling facility. The ship deposited the heroes on the edge of the large dirt clearing in the middle of a cornfield before collapsing into a sphere camouflaged amongst the crops. Beta squad waited patiently nearby while alpha infiltrated the compound.

" _Who knew an evil lair in the middle of an isolated cornfield could be so creepy at night?"_ Kid Flash joked.

* * *

It took mere minutes for alpha squad to locate the facility's security office. With a sleeping gas grenade debilitating any resistance, the quadruplet of protégés took control of security, Robin successfully hacking into the system and linking its controls with his gauntlet computer.

" _Phase one is complete,"_ Aqualad said. _"Robin, have you located Masters?"_

After a few moments of typing, the teen replied, _"Live energy mapping indicates three—no, four potential locations. One in the silo like we thought, another in cold storage, and two more across the main processing facility near management and packaging."_

" _Very well, we will have to divide to investigate them simultaneously,"_ Aqualad commanded. _"Zatanna and M'gann, check the packaging area; Kid Flash and *Red Robin,* the management. Alpha squad: Superboy and Artemis check the silo; Robin will investigate cold storage while I monitor security. Everyone, proceed with the mission."_

" _Sharing building schematics now,"_ Robin announced, and soon the team's various devices loaded with plans and holographic models of the entire facility.

* * *

" _Way to go, jerk,"_ Kid Flash said once he and *Red Robin* had a telepathic channel of their own.

Danny halted beside him in the ventilation duct taking them to the management rooms. _"What did *I* do?!"_ he cried in offense.

" _You just HAD to go and be a superhero after all,"_ Kid Flash grumbled. _"I had to give Bird Brain all of my emergency snack fund for this week."_

Danny scoffed and continued towards the office. _"Oh come on, dude, it's not like it isn't obvious when you're a hero yourself and know what to look for."_

" _Whatever, man. Are we getting close?"_

" _I don't know. Let me just check this wrist computer which Robin *totally* taught me how to use,"_ he said, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

" _Fine, I'll look."_ Kid Flash opened his own display. _"Second branch on the left."_

As they passed the first branch to the left, they heard a male voice coming from the room below. "-roject Kr," he said.

" _Wait, hold up!"_ Kid Flash said and grabbed Danny's ankle. _"I need to hear what they're saying!"_

Danny jerked his ankle free of Kid Flash's grip. _"Why?"_

" _I heard that guy say 'Project Kr.' That's what gave us Superboy!"_

" _And this matters…why?"_

" _Why would a bunch of farmers be talking about a top-secret Cadmus Labs project?"_ Kid Flash deadpanned.

The two boys crept into the branch of the air duct and stopped once they were next to the vent above the man speaking. He sat at a conference table while a woman paced and looked out the floor-to-ceiling windows at the cornfields beyond.

"-was a disaster," the woman was saying. "I still resent those twerps for ruining all my research."

"Not all was lost, Doctor Spence," the man said.

"Really?" she replied bitterly. "Instead of serving us as intended, Project Kr is living its own life and _helping_ the enemy."

" _Hooo boy, Superboy would NOT like knowing they still call him an 'it,' "_ Kid Flash commented to Danny.

"Project Match is a disaster and virtually impossible to destroy, regardless of the fact that is a danger to our own research. After all that time spent cultivating the Kid Flash and Aqualad clones-"

" _Wait, WHAT?!"_ Kid Flash screamed mentally. Danny winced under its telepathic volume.

"-it took was a single visit from Kr to release it from containment," Spence continued. "Within twenty minutes, both clones were brutally…*dismantled.*"

"Well, it's not as if we are totally unprepared for the Reach's arrival. Masters should relent in the next day or so and provide plenty of resources for your research," the man encouraged. "Besides, the Kid Flash and Aqualad clones may have been prematurely eliminated. But at least the Robin is operational."

Kid Flash and Danny immediately whipped to look at each other, both equally as shocked. Before Danny could react, Kid Flash pinned him against the side of the vent.

" _You!"_ Kid Flash telepathically shouted.

" _W-what about me?"_

" _Duh, genius, *you're* the clone!"_

" _Me?! N-no, dude! That can't be right! I'm his twin!"_

" _Yeah, sure, a twin who has the exact same DNA,"_ Kid Flash drawled.

" _But I saw! I was switched in the hospital! I'm a Grayson!"_

" _The only experience I've had was with Red Arrow, and he didn't realize he was a clone until after he'd finished his directive!"_

" _Red Arrow's a CLONE?!"_ Danny bleated in reply.

" _Yeah, he is, and he almost got the entire Justice League under the Light's control before his programming let him realize what he was doing! Now, what. is. your. programming?"_ he demanded, grip tightening on Danny's borrowed Robin costume.

" _I-I-I'm not a clone, I swear!"_

" _How would you know?!"_

" _I'd never even heard of Cadmus before all this!"_

" _Maybe they blocked it from your memory!"_

Danny audibly grunted in frustration.

"Did you hear that?" Doctor Spence asked.

Kid Flash and Danny shared a thought at the same time: _"Shit."_

* * *

M'gann and Zatanna soon found themselves levitating invisibly over the expanse of packaging machinery which whisked corn and other vegetables here and there into a variety of boxes and cans.

" _So you and Robin must be getting pretty serious if you planned on greeting him like that,"_ M'gann teased.

 _Zatanna suppressed a chuckle. "Actually, we aren't really a *thing* yet,"_ she replied in a coy tone. _"Of course, that doesn't mean we haven't made out here and there…"_

" _Ooooo!"_ M'gann cooed.

" _Hey Miss M, you see that door over there?"_ Zatanna suddenly diverted. She and M'gann focused on a heavily fortified door with a posted security team and multiple cameras and automated weapons. _"Why are there WEAPONS in a packaging plant?"_

M'gann telekinetically brought them closer. _"I don't know, but it is suspicious."_

" _So how do we get in? Can you density shift yet?"_

The Martian released a mental sigh. _"Not very well. Uncle J'onn is so much better at it."_

" _SECURITY ALERT. SECURITY ALERT. SURVEILLANCE ROOM COMPROMISED. INFILTRATION SUSPECTED."_

" _Great."_

At the sounding of the alarm, the guards posted outside the door sprinted from their post. Suddenly, access appeared to be significantly easier.

"Actually, Miss M, this might help us," Zatanna chirped and waved her wand. "Eht rood si dekcolnu!"

The door's controls beeped before sliding it open just enough for a person to walk through. Still in camouflage mode, the two girls flew inside and immediately found a large, glass-encased holding cell occupied by an indignant man with long, silver hair.

Vlad, having looked up at the opening of the door, soon saw the slight distortion in the air where the two girls hovered. "Oh, they sent ghosts. How wonderful," he snarked, his voice hollow over the intercom. "And here I was hoping for a personal rescue."

M'gann released their camouflage. "We are not ghosts, Mr. Masters," she said. "I am Miss Martian, and this is Zatanna. We are-"

"-protégés of the Justice League; yes, I know," Masters interrupted. "How unfortunate you _aren't_ ghosts. Luthor appears to have forgotten my supernatural alliances, yet his people anticipated your intervention. Please, feel free to wave your useless magic wand to try and open this savage cage." He waved a hand as if to offer permission.

As Vlad had anticipated, a barrier spell had been cast on his containment. M'gann's further attempts at telekinesis proved futile against the quadruple-reinforced cage.

"Perhaps Robin can hack it?" Miss Martian suggested.

"He would have to be here in person," Masters said. "This system functions independently with hardwire, not networked or wireless communication."

" _Miss M and I found Masters in a room off of packaging,"_ Zatanna communicated. _"Robin, we could use your hacking skills, but we need you here in person."_

" _I'm—*grunt*—a little busy!"_ he replied.

" _I'll try to help!"_ he replied immediately after.

" _Wait…are you coming or not?"_ Zatanna asked.

" _Oh, uh, *Red Robin* will help,"_ Danny clarified.

" _Great, you two sound the same even mentally,"_ Artemis interjected.

"Ok, help is on the way," M'gann cheered to Vlad. "Just sit tight, sir."

"No, please," Masters said. "I quite enjoy being kept on display like a zoo exhibit."

"Look, do you want to be rescued or not?" Zatanna snapped.

* * *

" _SECURITY ALERT. SECURITY ALERT. SURVEILLANCE ROOM COMPROMISED. INFILTRATION SUSPECTED."_

Pandemonium descended as security attempted to reacquire control of the facility. In a quiet corner near the cold storage vaults, a small area of the concrete gently swayed in the breeze being generated by the workers running past.

The movement eventually subsided, and the small portion of concrete swaying in the breeze flickered into a mass of black fabric. Robin then stood and let his cape fall behind him. "Project Evanesce works!" he cheered to himself.

Years of clandestinity allowed the teen to virtually disappear even without activating the Project Evanesce prototype. He soon found himself perched on a truss overlooking the storage facility. There were many open entrances to the cold storage rooms branching off the central space, but one in the corner remained shut, darkened, and guarded despite the chaos ensuing around it.

Robin took out an explosive Bird-a-rang and frisbee'd it into a storage room a few bays down. A loud but non-destructive explosion tore the guards from their post in front of the locked door, allowing Robin to parkour across the truss and drop down in front of it.

Unfortunately, one of the factory workers spotted him. "It's a protégé!" the employee shouted and pointed. "The bomb was a diversion! _Security!"_

But it was not security who pinned Robin to the wall.

"Hello…Bird Brain," Devastation growled.

"Always a pleasure," he grunted and struggled against the strength of Devastation's grip on his neck.

" _Miss M and I found Masters in a room off of packaging,"_ came Zatanna's update. _"Robin, we could use your hacking skills, but we need you here in person."_

" _I'm—*grunt*—a little busy!"_ he replied. A flash grenade bird-a-rang startled the aggressor and allowed him to break free.

* * *

"This is DEFINITELY not a silo," Artemis drawled.

She and Superboy hid in an alcove 5 stories above the ground. Their perch allowed them to overlook a massive piece of machinery which appeared to be analyzing and producing samples of some sort of liquid. Despite the late hour in the evening, multiple scientists milled about the floor and a number of gangways. It wasn't loud, though there was a consistent hum of activity.

" _What do you think they're making?"_ Superboy grunted.

" _Considering it's Lex Luthor, my guess is…hair growth serum?"_

Superboy chuckled under his breath. _"At least I didn't get THAT part of his DNA. Well, whatever it is, it can't be good. If only we could get a sample without drawing attention."_

" _After we locate Mas-"_ Artemis began, but an announcement interrupted her.

" _SECURITY ALERT. SECURITY ALERT. SURVEILLANCE ROOM COMPROMISED. INFILTRATION SUSPECTED."_

The facility descended into chaos. One scientist decided to look up and scan the upper volume of the silo, his eyes quickly locking onto the hidden pair of protégés. "Up there!" he shouted and pointed.

"Wow, we almost made it 5 minutes that time," Artemis quipped, drawing her bow.

* * *

A few seconds later, the cold storage door was re-locked with Robin barricaded inside.

The room was eerily dark and silent in contrast to Devastation's incessant yet unsuccessful attacks on the door. The only illumination came from a glass cylinder standing on display at the far end of the room. Robin crept forward, senses on high alert and breath misting in the chilled air. And when he was close enough to see saw what was contained…

It felt as if his stomach had filled with concrete.

* * *

"It was so kind of you to let us come over, Angela," Maddie greeted, leading Jack inside.

"Of course!" Angela Foley replied. "I would have invited you to come earlier for dinner if I'd known you were coming earlier. Would you or Jack like some coffee and pound cake?"

"No, thank you, I'm afraid we don't have the time."

"Well, if our Tucker can help bring your Danny home any sooner, that's treat enough for us."

"Where is he?" Jack asked.

"In his room, I think," Angela replied distractedly before calling upstairs. "Tucker! Guests!"

Within moments, the boy came stampeding down the stairs before freezing near the bottom. Tucker withered under Mrs. Fenton's scowl. "Uuuuh, actually, I'm busy with homework. Talk to you guys tomorrow?"

Tucker turned to sneak back upstairs, but his mother caught the elbow of his sweater. "Tucker, dear, the Fentons think you can help find Danny. You do want to find your friend don't you?"

"Umm, I think he ran away for his own reasons," he said an octave too high. "Maybe just wait until he comes home?"

"Tucker Collins Foley, if there's something you know and are keeping secret, then _so help me God-_ "

"Alright, alright!" he said and turned back to Maddie. "Come on up to my room. It's on my computer." He meaningfully darted his eyes at his mother after she had turned her back.

Maddie understood this was not for his parents' ears. "Of course. Lead the way, Tucker."

The ghost hunters followed Tucker to his room and shut the door behind them. Tucker cowered on the other side of the bed from them, the computer on the desk in between.

Familiar with psychological manipulation techniques, Maddie waited and stared at Tucker, remaining completely silent in order to extract what she wanted to hear. After a moment, the teen finally caved and broke the standoff. "We thought it would be best if Danny got a head st-"

"You sent us on a wild goose chase following some copycat ghost around town!" Jack barked. "What kind of idiots do you take us for?!"

"This is his hero's journey!" Tucker blurted.

Bewildered, Maddie said, "What?!"

"We studied it in English. It's like, something bad happens to him, he's on a quest to figure it out, then everything goes to shit-"

"Watch your mouth, Tucker!"

" _Is that really important right now?!"_ he hissed, then continued. "He finds out he's not a Fenton, he even _sees_ himself getting switched at birth, you guys—the only family he's ever known— _attack_ him, so he runs away. The whole thing is out of our hands now; he has to figure it out. And when he does, he can come home."

"I'm not going to sit by and wait for that to happen! It's against my training!" she insisted.

"What training?"

"Yeah, what training?" Jack parroted.

Maddie scoffed and looked back at Tucker, her countenance darkening. "Not important. You're not a mother; you're not a parent yet at all. You don't understand a mother's need to protect her son. So you better get on board, _Foley,_ or I tell my dear friend Angela why your grades have been suffering."

Tucker gulped. "You—you wouldn't."

Maddie crossed her arms.

"Y-you'd be outing Danny to someone outside the inner circle!"

Maddie's persistent glare was all the assurance he needed.

"I miss the days when all that mattered was how good your cookies were," Tucker grumbled and sat at his desk. After some brief typing, a profile with Danny Fenton and Phantom's faces opened on the screen. "This is his real ectosignature. I promise. But don't come crying to me when you're in too deep in this mess; you don't know the superhero life."

"Oh, Tucker," Maddie said with a fake, endearing chuckle and a pat to his cheek. She rested her hands on his shoulders from behind the chair and forcefully gripped them. "You're so cute when you underestimate me."

* * *

Red Robin tumbling in the door startled both the girls and the hostage. The newcomer somersaulted back to his feet as the door closed behind.

"Robin?" Vlad asked.

"How's it goin', V-man?" Red Robin greeted.

The captive immediately slumped. "Oh, brilliant. Why did they have to send _you?"_

"Missed you too, jerkface. Can we just get this over with?"

"This holding cell has been fortified against virtually all forces apart from the one at only our disposal," Vlad said with heavy meaningfulness. "I have been unable to escape due to the need to *keep up appearances,*" he added through clenched teeth.

Red Robin smiled and crossed his arms. "I dunno, I kinda like the look of you trapped behind glass."

"Red Robin, we don't have time for this," Zatanna interrupted. "Remember the mission!"

He scoffed. "Fine." Red Robin stepped forward and placed a black-gloved hand on the nearest pane of glass. The already transparent material turned intangible, allowing Vlad to calmly stride into freedom.

"So kind of you to rescue me during this trying time," Vlad cooed.

"You don't know the half of it," Red Robin growled.

Vlad smirked, though it was inwardly troubled. "I know more than you think."

Before Red Robin could send him more than an appraising glance, a gruff voice announced over the intercom:

_"CLIPPED_ _WING."_

The protégés and Red Robin shared a glance. M'gann began, "What was-?"

"If I were you, I might stop trusting-" Vlad interrupted before being cut off himself.

"If I were _you_ , I'd shut my trap and let the *heroes* figure out how to get you out of here!" Red Robin spat.

"If you'd only _listen-"_

"If you'd only _leave me alone!_ I have enough crap to deal with without your opinions! _"_

Indignant, Masters snapped his jaw shut and remained quiet.

" _Uh, guys? Guys?!"_ Kid Flash called. _"We need backup in storage! They got Robin!"_

Red Robin paled. "No…no! I'm not losing him! He's all I have right now!"

"Wait, Red, he'll be-" M'gann began, but he was already gone.

"We should go help him," Zatanna said.

"No, our mission is to extract Masters," the Martian replied. "We need to get him to a secure location before we can intervene."

"Please, do," Vlad snarked.

The trio encountered scores of armed guards as soon as they left the packaging annex. Instantly on high alert, M'gann levitated herself, Zatanna and Masters above the crowds and whisked themselves away to the nearest escape route. Zatanna noticed Superboy, Artemis and Aqualad slowly making their way through the chaos.

* * *

It was madness when Red Robin found Kid Flash and Robin. The speedster had been trying to get to his captive friend, but Devastation successfully kept him at bay. Artemis, Superboy and Aqualad had been separated by the guards to be taken down individually, leaving the storage bays in complete chaos and disarray as each protégé fought their own battle.

Using small, barely noticeable bursts of intangibility, Red Robin darted through the crowd until he was closer to where three armed guards held Robin hostage. Each of their automatic weapons pointed directly at Robin's head.

"Wait…" one of the guards barked, "there's another one?!"

Robin's condition shook Danny to his core despite both of them being no strangers to injuries from a fight. His brother's appearance clearly resulted from such a malevolence, a heartless dehumanization, that Red Robin couldn't help but freeze when he finally broke through the chaos to where the Boy Wonder was held hostage.

Robin was heavily beaten. His cape was in tatters; what remained of his mask barely had enough structure to cling to his face, and it left his left eye exposed. He looked to be on the brink of unconsciousness and breathed laboriously. When Robin finally managed to look up, pain and betrayal colored his expression. A cough delayed the words he finally managed to croak:

"I'm—I'm not-"

It wasn't dramatic like in the movies: there weren't brains everywhere, nor did a body go flying from the force. There was almost no indication that it had happened at all, apart from the small trickle of blood down his forehead and the ear-splitting burst of noise. But as the thunderous echo died away, bringing the room to a momentary halt, there was no doubt in anyone's mind over what had just transpired.

Only then did Robin's corpse slump to the floor.

It took a series of deepening breaths for Danny to release a brief, tortured, wordless cry, his voice cracking worse than at pubescence. He dropped to his knees, jaw agape and tears already spilling. The guards descended, and he was captured, drugged and unconsciously hauled away before the team even knew what was happening.

A ferocious roar shattered the unsettling calm which had blanketed the room. This roar was not from Devastation; no, it came from an inconsolable redhead now hellbent on exacting revenge.

The dynamics of the fight changed immediately. Kick, punch, steal weapon, disarm, swing, punch, kick—Kid Flash was a yellow-and-red blur rapidly debilitating the Light's forces, pouring vengeance upon each as if they had been the one to murder his best friend.

The one who had actually pulled the trigger had intuitively gotten lost in the crowd.

Artemis left Kid Flash's wake of destruction to the superpowered team members and instead fought her way to the small group hurrying Robin's body away. It only took a moment and three tranquilizer arrows to stop them in their tracks, the corpse dropping in a haphazard heap. She immediately crouched over his form and checked to see if he might miraculously still have a pulse. He didn't.

One guard charged at her, but without even looking up from her friend's body, Artemis withdrew a hidden knife from her boot and gripped it, ready to swipe. "Do you _really_ want to try that?" she challenged.

The guard reconsidered.

Now with a wide berth, Artemis carefully repositioned her fallen friend to be prostrate on his back, arms folded over his chest. _"Uh, guys? I need a, um—a—"_ She paused the telepathic message to unsuccessfully swallow her emotions. She settled on waving her hands around to mime what she needed despite no team members being in eyesight, tears threatening to spill. _"—A, um…a…the cover thing? F-for a cor-…when someone dies?"_

" _Some plastic sheeting would function well enough for now,"_ Aqualad somberly replied.

Artemis found some nearby and neatly wrapping it around Robin. After securing the makeshift shroud, the girl hefted his body across her shoulders and made her way towards the exit with great difficulty. Some of the goons caught on to the fact she was taking the body and made to stop her, but a violent shockwave originating from just behind her heralded the arrival of Superboy. Fortunately, the remaining forces focused on them had the decency to let them take their fallen colleague, particularly with the threat of facing the infamously temperamental Cadmus escapee.

Unable to otherwise communicate with Kid Flash, Aqualad finally resorted to using his water-bearers to sweep up the crazed teen in a wave of water. Kid Flash wailed and fought against the water, but it was no use. The pair fled, leaving the storage wing of the processing facility in shambles.

* * *

Nobody spoke. Nobody breathed. Nobody dared acknowledge the return of the trauma which had haunted them all since that infamous 'Failsafe' simulation: A member of the team was down. Robin's body laid reverently in the center of the bio-ship, covered in its makeshift shroud of stolen plastic sheeting.

After nearly an hour of silence, Vlad cleared his throat. "There's no need for this."

A red-eyed Kid Flash glared up at him, fury nearly as fiery as the speedster's hair. "You have no right to speak."

"Once again, if you would only liste-"

" _NO RIGHT!"_

The other protégés shrunk at his outburst. The only sign of it having affected Vlad as well was the flinch he couldn't disguise quickly enough.

Kid Flash stood and approached the billionaire. "My best friend just died trying to rescue your evil ass," he growled, poking Vlad in the chest for added emphasis. "You have no right to tell us what we do and do not have to feel. Robin is dead, and 'Danny' is captive in his creators' hands. You have the right to disappear, and scamper back to your empty little mansion, and wallow with the weight of the Justice League's best protégé's death on your pathetic little chest."

"Kid Flash, you know that we are all aware of the potential consequences of this career," Aqualad said in his typical low tone. "Premature death is almost guaranteed for us. This extraction, while having a low perceived threat, was no different."

For a moment, the only sound and movement was the bio-ship coasting across the midwestern skies. Eventually, Kid Flash's scowl morphed into dejection. He dropped his pointed finger and slunk back to his chair.

After a hesitation, Vlad said, "Either way, Robin is not dead."

Everyone turned to him.

"That" —he pointed at the corpse— "wasn't the real Robin."

In an instant, Kid Flash had Vlad pinned to the wall. "Now you listen, and you listen good, Masters," he threatened. "If you think that I will believe you for _one second_ -"

"Axion Labs."

Kid Flash stopped.

"I was there," Vlad said. "So was Luthor."

The speedster hesitated. "But-"

"Think, boy," Vlad prodded. "Consider _everything_."

—

"… _The Kid Flash and Aqualad clones may have been prematurely eliminated. But at least the Robin is operational."_

—

" _CLIPPED_ _WING."_

" _Robin? …Robin?!"_

—

'Clipped Wing.' 'Red Sun.' 'Broken Arrow.'

_CLIPPED WING._

Kid Flash loosened his grip. "Danny wasn't the clone…"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh-ho-ho I pulled a sneaky on ya there, didn't I?
> 
> Lots of notes for this week:
> 
> \- I haven't decided whether or not Danny will replace Tim Drake in the continuity of this story - or perhaps take on the name as an alias - but his purpose at this point is merely to introduce the Red Robin moniker for Tim to assume later.
> 
> \- This chapter is dedicated to reader Davidscrazy234 who suggested in an early review that Danny should be paired with Zatanna. I know that scene isn't quite what you meant, but I hope you enjoyed it if you're still reading!
> 
> \- Big props to the few readers who suspected and guessed that Robin was the clone! QuietLeaf and Bananarock59, for two. There might have been others, but c'mon, there's more than 260 reviews now which I'd have to sort through...
> 
> \- My wonderful beta pointed out that the Cadmus clones' shutdown words are references to their weaknesses, but I for the life of me can't think of one for Robin which would work. I mean, what would I put, "Familial Sentiment?" So for now, Nightwing is (er...was) both this clone's shutdown words and project designation. I will make it very apparent should this change as I publish future chapters. EDIT MAY 23, 2019: All instances of 'Nightwing' being used as Robin's shutdown word have now been replaced with 'Clipped Wing,' thanks to a suggestion from reader Nilorin_Z.
> 
> \- No real Easter Eggs this month apart from Danny mentioning the Trinity of Doom, Cyber Zombie Commando and Dead Teacher series, all of which were involved with the plot of the Danny Phantom show at one point or another.
> 
> Let me know what you think! *maniacal laughter with a slight sadness at the corner of each eye due to the emotional weight of what I'm doing to the Grayson twins* Did any of you guys see either of those twists coming? Did I sufficiently [temporarily] rip out your soul?
> 
> And don't worry, I PROMISE a happy/satisfactory ending. ;)
> 
>  
> 
> \------
> 
> UPDATE JUNE 24: Sorry, guys, slight delay in posting chapter 13 because I have a final presentation of a massive design project on Wednesday. Hopefully I can get it out this Friday, but in all likelihood it will be next week. Sorry!


	13. Shell Game - Part II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Let's answer the big question: What's been happening off-screen?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for the two-week delay in publishing this chapter. Unfortunately, I have been sleeping 1-4 hours per night because of massive amounts of schoolwork for my masters degree, and I simply did not have the time until this past weekend to draft and re-draft the chapter to my desired level of quality.
> 
> Recommended soundtrack: [this YouTube mix](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gdg5HqX_vZE&list=RDGdg5HqX_vZE&start_radio=1&t=11) based off of Pen Perry's remix of Hanz Zimmer's Time.

"Think, boy," Vlad prodded. "Consider _everything_."

* * *

_One Hour Prior to Present — 23:07, Tuesday, March 20 — LexCorp Farms Central Processing Facility, Lebanon, Kansas_

The room was eerily dark and silent in contrast to Devastation's incessant yet unsuccessful attacks on the door. The only illumination came from a glass cylinder standing on display at the far end of the room. Robin crept forward, senses on high alert and breath misting in the chilled air. And when he was close enough to see what was contained…

It felt as if his stomach had filled with concrete.

Inside the cylinder, dressed in Cadmus' signature white unitard, was a frozen black-haired teen identical to himself. Every physical feature—even the musculature—was perfect. Its effect recalled that of watching a tragic car accident; it was horrible, it was terrifying, yet he could not look away. For a brief moment, Robin stood alone in the world, ignorant of the beastly woman trying to break in and the chaos ensuing outside.

He couldn't believe it. Cadmus had done it; they had actually replaced Danny Fenton with a clone. Robin had been so certain Danny was his lost brother; the half-ghost hybrid had even claimed to have witnessed the switch himself. Though, Robin now supposed, the alleged memory could very well have been part of 'Danny's' programming whenever he had been switched.

And then…

Robin furrowed his brow at the glint of something red on the forehead. He drew so close to the pod that his breath frosted the exterior of the glass. There, unmistakably, was a blemish on his doppelgänger's forehead: an unhealed cut above the right eye which appeared so fresh it could have only happened minutes ago. Yet, this duplicate had clearly been in stasis for days, if not longer. So when could he have-

The penny dropped.

It was the sudden opening of the drapes which illuminated reality in harsh detail: The Axion archives. Falling. Drawer pull. Forehead. Trickle of blood. Inexplicably prolonged unconsciousness in an 'enemy' facility. Confusion upon waking up.

Beneath the domino mask, Robin's eyes widened. His breathing began to accelerate; his mind, to decelerate. He took one hesitant step back and lifted his palms, staring at them through the gloves as if they had facilitated a nuclear apocalypse; another step back, staring at his body through the uniform as if it had committed egregious crimes; a third step back, staring at _his_ face inside the glass as if it would awaken and confirm he was _not supposed to exist_.

 _Robin_ was the clone, not Danny, not the— _him_ trapped inside.

" _CLIPPED WING."_

Frozen.

Devastation finally broke through the door and charged the catatonic clone. The bedlam spilled into the cold storage bay behind her, swallowing them into its ebb and flow.

Kid Flash's eyes widened in horror as he looked on from outside. "Robin?" he shouted. When the Boy Wonder didn't even flinch, he repeated, "Robin?!"

But it was to no avail. 'Robin' was completely unresponsive due to the trigger-word-induced catatonia, unbeknownst to Kid Flash. The force of Devastation tackling Robin seemed to snap the boy out of his hypnosis. It was unfortunately too late for Robin's famously keen fight-or-flight mode to engage; the disheartened hero was instantly disarmed and subdued.

" _Uh, guys? Guys?!"_ Kid Flash called.  _"We need backup in storage! They got Robin!"_

"You useless trash!" "What went wrong with your programming?!" "The hell is wrong with this one! Tell Dr. Spence we need to restart."

'Robin' tried less-than-half-heartedly to fight against his restraints, but each attempt only brought him more pain and torture from the guards. Within seconds, Project Evanesce's cape was destroyed; his mask, a mere shell of what it should be. Though at this point, 'Robin' hardly thought it would matter since they had his face under their mastery anyway.

The employees finally appeared to show mercy and ceased their beating. They dragged him through the mass of Cadmus goons into LexCorp Farms' main storage area. An armed guard flanked 'Robin's' sides while a third trailing behind, each equipped with an automatic assault rifle.

Robin found himself unable to respond to the stimuli around him. It was as if reality progressed without him. Everyone surrounding Robin and his captors barreled past in absolute frenzy as they fought to subdue the invading protégé team. He could not remember being so catatonic outside of hypnosis, not since the night-

The night...

—

" _And now the Flying Graysons will perform their most spectacular, death-defying stunt *without* a safety net below!"_

" _*Gasps* Oh, my god the rope-"_

" _Look away now! Shield your children's eyes! They're going to-!"_

_Plummetplummetplummet-_

—

Crash. A packaging machine exploded apart as a Cadmus employee went sailing through it. He landed in an unconscious heap not far from 'Robin.' The subdued teen could only look on in macabre fascination.

Well...they hadn't even been his parents anyway.

"Rob!"

The desperate wail of his—of his _original's_ best friend captured his attention. 'Robin' wordlessly watched the speedster practically plow through the crowds to get to him. Robin's empty, haunting gaze made Kid Flash falter and be momentarily overpowered.

"KF-?"

"Silence, trash," a guard growled.

And then his weapon's safety disengaged.

'Robin' twisted as much as he could to see the man emotionlessly inspect his rifle.

'Robin's' thoughts turned introspective. He could feel what was coming; a rogue clone who found out the truth prematurely? He was bound to have a short life span, his elimination almost routine. None of this would serve to comfort him in the knowledge that in a few short moments, 'Robin' would no longer be here; he would no longer exist, as it should be. He shouldn't have existed in the first place.

Yet…

"Wait…" one of the other guards barked, "there's another one?"

'Robin' could barely breathe, but he fought to raise his gaze to see what the guard was talking about. There, rocketing through the crowd with more than a minimal amount of intangibility, was the _other_ other him. Danny was headed straight for him, now bound to have a front-row seat of what would seem to be—to him—the execution of his only living blood family.

It was this realization that finally snapped 'Robin' out of his stupor and sent him spiraling into dread and panic. Danny—he didn't know; he wasn't _there_ in the _room_ when 'Robin' found his original. And the other protégés…

Kid Flash struggled to break free from his attackers. Artemis crouched on top of a piece of heavy machinery, using the high ground to subdue handfuls of Cadmus and LexCorp employees. The brawniest of security guards grappled with Superboy in another corner. Aqualad, meanwhile, had broken open a water main and used tsunami waves as a broom to the Light goons' filth. All of them, apart from Kid Flash, were drowning in the chaos and completely unaware of what was about to pass.

None of them would know any better and think the _real_ him was about to be murdered. He knew that it would shatter Danny in his currently fragmented state and emotionally destroy him. Regardless of the guards' orders, he tried to warn the boy but only induced a coughing fit. In the end, all he managed to croak was:

"I'm—I'm not-"

Blank.

* * *

_Present — 00:14, Wednesday, March 21 — Bio-ship, Indiana Airspace_

' _Clipped Wing.' 'Red Sun.' 'Broken Arrow.'_

_CLIPPED WING._

Kid Flash loosened his grip on Masters' clothes. "Danny wasn't the clone…"

"Indeed not," Masters said. With a small measure of disgust, he removed the speedster's gloved hand from his person and straightened his clothes.

"I think you'd better start explaining, old man," was Artemis' growled threat.

Vlad sighed. "Saturday evening, when Robin broke into Axion, Luthor happened to be there. Last Thursday, I arranged a meeting following the arrival of what I thought to be a second Daniel Fenton. Through our combined teams and resources, Robin was subdued. Luthor had a duplicate on hand, a leftover of sorts from Project Sidekick which began during your team's first infiltration of Cadmus. A DNA sample was collected from the three sidekicks-"

"We're _protégés,_ damn it!" Superboy snapped. "Do not underestimate us, Masters. That would be a big mistake."

Vlad cleared his throat. "After Luthor *publicly* took over Cadmus, clones of Aqualad, Kid Flash and Robin were cultivated, though the genomorphs had yet to download their originals' consciousnesses. Unfortunately, Kid Flash and Aqualad's duplicates were brutally torn limb from limb the day Project Match was liberated."

Superboy tried to ignore the strange mixture of guilt and relief at that revelation. "And how can we trust what you're saying?"

"I overheard some scientists talking about it," Kid Flash growled with spite. "He's on the level."

"The Robin duplicate had already been moved to another facility for the sake of insurance; if Cadmus went down again, the Light therefore had one remaining option: an experiment re-designated as 'Project Nightwing' as a reference to Robin's call sign and typical hours of operation."

Zatanna looked uncomfortably at the corpse on the floor. "So this is _not_ a dead Robin, but a dead _fake_ Robin," she said.

Vlad slowly spun on his heel to overlook the passing scenery. "If only it were that simple."

* * *

_One Week Prior to Present — Wednesday, March 14 — Amity Park City Hall, Amity Park, Ohio_

"How many variants of the simple word 'no' must I use to get this through to you? I told you, I'm out." Vlad, infuriated, sighed deeply as he listened to the other person speak.

" _Vladimir, please,"_ Luthor kindly consoled.

Vlad shifted the receiver against his face while hunching over the desk and pinching the bridge of his nose. "The scandal, the mere continued _association_ would threaten the stability of DALV Co."

" _Ah, you do so love to exaggerate, my friend,"_ Luthor assured. _"Our Cadmus program did see measurable success with the Red Arrow initiative."_

The mayor of Amity Park whirled around in his chair to stare out the window. The electrochromic glass had darkened when his office's soundproofing systems engaged. "You are fully aware of the success in my own efforts, just as I am aware of yours. Or should I say 'lack thereof' on both accounts? I'm struggling to understand, then, why you cannot grasp the concept of permanently terminating my participation in your think tank's endeavors. The test subjects and subsequent attempts at replication were all catastrophic failures."

" _We have encountered some…*difficulties,* I will admit,"_ Luthor replied. _"Just as I know you have, old friend, though you have failed to mention any particular reasons why our test-proven duplication procedure does not work for your own pet project."_

Vlad scowled, avoiding explaining just _why_ the subject of his own cloning experimentation did not have predictable, fully-human DNA. "An ongoing partnership has proved disastrous for us. Both of our projects have yet to succeed despite both of us doing legwork personally. It has been two years, my old *friend.* Clones simply aren't viable weapons, each with a mind of their own." His mind swam in a sea of black-haired, blue-eyed teens. "Our time working together has come to an end."

" _I needn't remind you of the consequences of severing associations with our organization."_ Luthor's voice turned threatening as he added, _"And your days will not be spent in the Light, but in darkness."_

Vlad listened then stood from his chair, stretching the phone's cord to its limits. "Then I shall happily spend the rest of my days in the 'darkness,' as you say. I already own the shadows. Good day." The mayoral office automatically reset itself to normal as soon as the receiver slammed down.

* * *

_Three Days Prior to Present — 18:15 Precisely, Saturday, March 17 — Axion Labs, Amity Park, Ohio_

"Your guest has arrived, Mr. Masters," Walter announced.

"How very prompt," Vlad retorted without looking up from his computer.

Walt stepped aside to allow a man in a perfectly tailored suit to pass. Vlad pulled his gaze away from the screen. His frosty demeanor turned instantly hostile.

"Hello, Vladimir," the visitor greeted.

"Alexander Luthor. What a treat that you could drag yourself all the way out to this godforsaken backwater," Vlad growled. "Thank you, Walt, that will be all."

The assistant disappeared, shutting the door behind him. The room went into auditory and visual isolation mode.

"You have been dabbling, Luthor," Vlad reprimanded. "I don't like dabbling."

"You haven't exactly been idle either, have you, Vladimir?" Luthor retorted.

Vlad turned up his nose. "I don't know what you mean."

"Really?" Lex adjusted to a more comfortable position and lazily pulled up some CCTV footage on his phone's holographic display. "Did you really think I wouldn't notice the sudden appearance of a host of variants of your local hero? An entire miniature golf course, destroyed in minutes? A residential street, pulverized worse than post-revolutionary Cairo? The skeleton in a bedsheet was initially a bit of a stretch, but the appearance of one who looked like a failed Project Blockbuster experiment with Phantom's visage? And the girl…she could be a relation, but I somehow doubt that."

Vlad's skin crawled. He refrained from answering the question directly. "You keep such a close eye on our pokey little community? How touching."

"I like to make sure our…associates are well-looked-after. Especially when we have such similar goals in mind."

"That is still to be determined," Vlad growled. "Regardless, I initially called this meeting when I saw _three_ black-haired, blue-eyed boys running around when there should only be _two._ "

"Now it is I who doesn't know what you mean."

"It will be hard to forget that Cadmus fiasco two years ago when the League protégés intervened. You claimed all data collection was destroyed when Robin escaped containment, but now one could consider me to be 'skeptical.' "

Lex showed no signs of anxiety. "You are correct. Any memory collection completed was lost when Project Kr intervened. I will admit, however, to having already logged his DNA."

"And was this sample…applied?"

A small smile danced across the Metropolitan's lips.

"Oh, fantastic," Vlad commented over-dramatically. "Yet another teenaged pain to deal with. Where is it now?"

"Awaiting assignment in cryo-stasis. The original still parades around Gotham as oblivious as ever. We collected their DNA before inserting the sidekicks into pods, allowing us to put on a wonderful show of total defeat in case they were awakened mid-procedure, as was the case."

"And the process of identifying him?"

"Current duplication technology allows us to duplicate and influence the mind, but there is no way to access the source material without a telepath present. Furthermore, Project Kr unfortunately went rogue and intervened before we could remove the mask."

"So what do you want with a clone of the boy anyway, especially now that the League's suspicions of you and Cadmus are heightened?"

"Not a day has passed when the League _hasn't_ wanted to investigate me," Lex answered. "But the advantages of having another agent in their ranks certainly outweighs the risks with the coming partnership."

Vlad narrowed his eyes, schooling his voice into a cold murmur. "What partnership?"

"Ours."

Vlad scoffed. "We have no partnership now. I made that perfectly clear on the phone."

"But we will, I assure you," Luthor purred and leaned forward to clasp his hands and rest his elbows on the desk. "An opportunity arose courtesy of Vandal Savage's…intervention two years ago, one which I am certain you cannot turn down. One which can offer you the world."

"Why? What would I gain?"

"The _world_ ," Luthor emphasized. "Or, at least your share, anyway."

Vlad merely stared.

"Our organization has received contact from an extraterrestrial group known as 'the Reach.' We have already begun to collaborate with their chief scientists to develop certain nutritional additives which would…aid the populace in accepting dominance from an outside force. The Light's cooperation guarantees our position at the top such that we may maintain control over the degree of complacency."

"And what do you want with me?"

"Axion Labs is quite the little think tank. Small, perhaps, but incredibly advanced and holder of a number of useful patents. Access to those and DALV Co's other resources is all we ask in return."

"While this would certainly not be my first cooperation with the Light, I have already had my last. I politely decline."

"I'm afraid that's not an option. You see, we…know things."

Masters' skin crawled. "Oh? Like what?"

_RING RING_

Vlad's line of vision fell on the desk phone announcing an incoming call from the security office. He answered the phone with a growl, "What is it, Damon? I'm busy." There was a pause, then- "Let me have a look."

Vlad opened the incoming security feed on his computer screen and watched the fleeting footage of Axion's unannounced visitor. While a furrowed brow gave away his initial confusion, a small smile danced across Vlad's face once he realized who it was. "No, no, quite alright, I'll take care of it. Wait for further instruction." He hung up the phone. "Well, Lex, it seems Cadmus' thorns are in everyone's sides now," he quipped and turned his screen to show just who was attempting to break into Axion.

Upon recognizing Robin, Lex grinned ruefully. "Fortunately, we came prepared." Both men began contacting assistants. Once his call connected, Luthor simply said, "Nightwing." He hung up and turned back to the host. "I trust your security team can capture him? You never cease to brag about its superiority to my own."

Vlad sent hurried instructions to Skulker. "Subduing the boy is not a problem. What exactly did you mean when you said you came prepared?"

"As I said, a duplicate is in cryostasis, and Project Nightwing is on-site and ready for installment. Do you have a *secret mad scientist lab* of which we might take advantage?"

* * *

It wasn't entirely difficult to track the intruder. Skulker began his search of the Axion facilities in the subterranean labs and found Robin in a matter of moments. All it took was an invisible push to topple the file boxes onto the hero; it would adequately provide the boy with a logical explanation for his unconsciousness upon awakening hours later. Skulker then phased the boy from under the pile and tossed him over a shoulder to take him to Vlad's private lab.

Said scientist and the visiting Metropolitan entered soon after, pleased to find Robin already stripped of his mask and uniform and sporting a simple white suit favored by Cadmus for pod containment. A small, untreated cut donned the boy's forehead from where it had struck the file cabinet.

"Excellent work, Skulker. Was he carrying anything of interest?" Vlad inquired.

The ghostly assistant held up a small black object. "Just his wallet," Skulker replied with a measure of hidden meaning, something his boss did not miss. Skulker tossed the wallet to Vlad.

Masters hastily opened it and found a Casper High ID card—a very particular boy's Casper High ID card. Shocked, Vlad looked to the boy over his shoulder.

' _Little Badger?'_

Oblivious to Vlad's internal confusion, Luthor leaned over the operating table to inspect the unconscious protégé. "How very out of character for the Boy Wonder to carry anything associated with his civilian identity," Luthor commented with a frown. "Batman is usually more diligent."

Vlad knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that this was _not_ Daniel Fenton. The resemblance was beyond uncanny and would most likely fool the boy's parents, if not his friends and sister. But, Vlad knew better, if only due to the fact that he was intimately familiar with how busy Danny and Phantom kept in Amity alone. The *superpowered* teen did not even possess the time with which he could moonlight as a *powerless* protégé in another city. This was not his self-proclaimed nemesis.

"Perhaps he thought he could pass as a cosplayer since he is so far from Gotham," Mercy suggested.

"Brilliant," Lex replied.

"Really?"

"Yes, brilliant impression of an idiot." Luthor leaned in to more closely scrutinize the unconscious boy.

Mercy bristled but kept silent.

In the interest of buying some time and sabotaging the Light's aspirations which no longer aligned with his own, Vlad made a snap decision to throw Luthor off the scent. He would protect both his desired heir _and_ Richard Grayson, who he now knew to be the true Robin laying before them.

" 'Daniel James Fenton,' " Vlad read with feigned revelation. "My university lab partners' son. Robin was from Amity Park all along? What a surprise."

Luthor then took the card from him. "Indeed. I was most certain he was a particular, *prominent* Gotham resident. Though the existence of zeta beam technology would explain his ability to frequent that Gothic slum."

While Luthor read the student ID more closely, Vlad glanced to his lackey hovering in the corner, staring intently for a few moments. Skulker silently nodded his head once in understanding to remain quiet.

Luthor handed the card back to Masters and said, "Regardless of who the boy is, he is a protégé of the Justice League and perfectly positioned to manipulate the League's missions and positions to our benefit, particularly should the need arise after the Reach's arrival. Mercy," he instructed his assistant, "please have Mr. Fenton's consciousness downloaded to Project Nightwing immediately."

With a nod and gesture from his bodyguard, Luthor's staff produced the cryostasis tube containing Project Nightwing and began preparing genomorphs for the memory transfer.

"Upon 'downloading his consciousness,' " Masters inquired, "are you able to access them to find out more about the protégés and heroes?"

"Unfortunately, Cadmus' mobile genomorph team is only able to transfer and influence his mind," Luthor replied. The small beings' horns began glowing red as Robin's mind was copied over to the clone. "To limitlessly access it, we would need a fully-capable telepath on hand. They are all back at Cadmus or otherwise occupied."

Vlad released a silent breath of relief. This would guarantee him and the 'true' Daniel James Fenton a little additional time to stay one step ahead of the untrustworthy Light.

"Rest assured," Lex continued, "we will still be able to implant the failsafe word and influence his drive to be 'Daniel Fenton.' "

An hour later, the original Robin was in stasis while Cadmus' team prepared the scene for the clone's insertion. 'Robin,' dressed in his namesake's uniform, was returned to the archive room and replaced under the pile of boxes and papers. The July 2016 file was left in position with particularly incriminating files excluded (though most were left for authenticity as a measure to trick 'the Batman'). The stage was set for the clone to awaken as Robin.

* * *

_Present Day — 00:22, Wednesday, March 21, Bio-ship, Indiana Airspace_

"Ow!" Vlad recoiled and grasped his nose. "What the hell was that for, you impertinent little insect?!"

Kid Flash shook out his hand while Superboy and Aqualad restrained him. "For my best friend and his brother, you morally constipated bastard!"

"I am new to heroism," Vlad spat, "but I don't believe it's customary to attack and insult the person you've just rescued!"

"You deserve a hell of a lot more than a punch!"

"Kid Flash, stand down," Aqualad ordered. "Your behavior is inappropriate."

The speedster yanked his arms out of his teammates' grips and skulked away to his chair. "We were all _thinking_ it," he muttered.

"Please continue, Mr. Masters," Aqualad requested.

Vlad took a deep, slow breath to center himself. "I allowed Luthor to think he had flawlessly implemented the Robin duplicate in order to buy some time to facilitate a failsafe. Unfortunately, when Daniel ran away from home—something contradicting his alleged programming—Luthor deduced I had...sabotaged the operation to an extent."

"So why did they take Red Robin-er, Danny?" M'gann asked.

"Because he interfered? He knew too much?" Masters offered a falsely uncaring shrug. "They are probably desperate to capture the true Robin and capture any boy with his face. I wouldn't be surprised if Luthor's mindless goons couldn't keep track of who is who anymore. Plus, Daniel's use of his powers wasn't exactly _subtle_. The Light may have become suspicious of his capabilities."

"So the Light now has the original Robin _and_ this kid Danny Fenton who they think is, what, a _superpowered_ Robin?" Superboy said. In a menacing growl, he added, "I suggest you share any knowledge you might have regarding where Luthor might take them."

"There are no other adequately equipped Light facilities with which I am familiar, apart from one currently under construction in central London; I don't know where precisely. Though I highly doubt Luthor would take him somewhere so exposed and unfinished. They would most likely redirect Robin and Daniel to a location where a telepath is on hand to take better control of any future clones."

"It would not hurt to investigate," Aqualad said. "Keeping them exposed could be the Light's way of hiding in plain sight. After we return Masters to his residence, we will report this to the League at once."

* * *

The team didn't say a word upon returning to the mountain. M'gann went straight to the kitchen to prepare some snacks for everyone while Superboy and Kid Flash carried the Robin clone's corpse to the medical bay for cold storage until he could be embalmed. Artemis, Zatanna and Kaldur collapsed onto the sofas and stared blankly out over the hangar.

The TV crackled to life with Batman's visage. "Aqualad, report to the training area for mission debriefing." It went dark again.

Kaldur sighed and stood from the sofa. Artemis, visibly forlorn, couldn't be bothered to lift her legs from where they rested on the coffee table, so Kaldur merely stepped over them.

Batman was already waiting with holographic imagery when Aqualad reached the training bay. He remained silent.

After a few moments, Aqualad could no longer tolerate the silence. "It did not proceed as planned."

"Understatement," the elder man barked. "And a certainty with this team. Where are Robin and Danny Fenton?"

Aqualad tried to hide a wince and shifted uncomfortably. "They are both in Light custody," he confirmed.

"And Robin's duplicate?"

Aqualad did a double-take. "You knew of it already?" he asked in disbelief.

"Indeed." Batman pressed a button on the holographic control panel, starting a video's playback. "Security footage recovered from Cadmus' vault showed the removal of a person resembling my protégé. I was unsure whether it was the original Robin still being kept from the infamous July 4th raid on the facility, or whether it was a duplicate being cultivated for his replacement in the same manner as Red Arrow. My suspicions were apparently not unfounded."

"Masters informed us in transit that it was in fact a clone," Aqualad said. "The original Robin was replaced this past Saturday while investigating Axion labs."

Batman uncharacteristically hesitated. "And his identity is now compromised?"

Aqualad sobered momentarily, having realized what must be troubling the League member given the circumstances. In a soft voice, Aqualad said, "Do not worry, Bruce. We protégés are the only ones who know. Vlad purposefully misidentified Robin as Daniel Fenton when he was unmasked."

"It is likely that Masters knows, however," Batman grumbled. "We will have to keep a closer eye on him until he proves his knowledge and intentions. Did he provide any additional intel en route to Amity Park?"

"Masters mentioned one of the Light's facilities which is currently under construction in London," Aqualad said. "Though he expressed doubt as to whether the captives would be held in a location so exposed and easily accessed."

"22 Bishopsgate," Batman said and manipulated a three-dimensional holographic construction of the Bank District in central London. "LexCorp has invested heavily in its construction and will occupy most of its office space."

"So let's go!"

Batman and Aqualad whirled to see Kid Flash bouncing eagerly in place.

"I do _not_ appreciate eavesdropping, Kid Flash."

"Robin is my best friend in the whole world, and if you guys know he's at this Bishopsgate place, I'm there!"

"We do not know yet, Kid Flash," Aqualad said. "It is a likely location but unconfirmed. We will be monitoring Luthor's movements, as well as his employees and all corporate holdings. For now, we wait."

"Waiting sucks," Kid Flash groaned.

"As does your impertinence. Stand down, Kid Flash."

The speedster deflated and went in search of M'gann's snacks.

"How has the rest of the team been handling the situation?"

"Artemis reacted strongly," Aqualad said. "Her state of mind was similar to that after the failed simulation."

"I will speak with Black Canary about temporarily returning to her duties as therapist. In the meantime, rest and wait for my signal. The instruction is on hold until we know more."

"Understood."

* * *

_9:22, Wednesday, March 21 — Fenton Works, Amity Park, Ohio_

" _And welcome back from the break! That new Dairy Queen blizzard just looks divine, doesn't it, Lance?"_

" _It sure does, Tiffany,"_ Lance replied from outside the studio. " _Fortunately, that's the only blizzard I forecast in *my* future. Sunny skies should take us here in Amity at least through Saturday afternoon when a cold front will start blowing through. With highs in the low 70's every day, it's shaping up to be a beautiful spring here in Amity Park. Lance Thunder, Action news. Back to you, Tiffany."_

" _Thank you, Lance. Well, that's certainly music to many people's ears as the hunt for missing teen Daniel 'Danny' Fenton continues."_

At the mention of her son's name, Maddie looked up from the invention which she was aggressively modifying for combat.

" _Amity Park Search and Rescue teams have been combing the entire county nonstop since the youngest Fenton was reported missing on Monday morning. Authorities have been in contact with our neighboring counties, but with no leads arising whatsoever. Questions have started circulating as to why the Fenton parents have not been involved in the search, and what this could mean for the family."_

"It's because we know we won't find him anywhere near Amity," Maddie murmured bitterly at the living room TV and applied a little too much force with the screwdriver.

" _APPD reiterates that if anyone has any information which might help locate Danny Fenton, please contact the non-emergency hotline you see on your screen._

" _In related news, it has now been almost three days since the last reported sighting of local hero, Danny Phantom. Despite his growing celebrity status, many have started to speculate whether he was involved with Fenton's disappearance."_

"More than you know, blondie," Maddie quipped.

Jack walked in with a fresh cup of coffee and an invention of his own with which to occupy himself. "Danny again?"

"Yeah, both of him," his wife replied. She rested the invention in her lap and dragged a hand down her cheek. "These people have no idea what's really going on. And neither do we. I don't like not knowing, Jack." She huffed and glared at the Fenton Finder sitting on the coffee table. A progress bar on its screen revealed a remaining five hours to sufficient charge for another pulse.

" _-chaos in Kansas,_ " Tiffany Snow continued. " _LexCorp Farms reports minimal property damage from the incident, but disruption to their production could set the company back millions of dollars with an estimated 60% of their machinery currently sitting in disrepair. CEO Lex Luthor has not revealed who the intruders were and what they might have been searching for in a simple agricultural processing facility. The Lebanon, Kansas campus hopes to be up and running again by early afternoon tomorrow."_

"Wait...Kansas!" Maddie exclaimed. She grabbed the Fenton Finder and went through its search history. "Danny's signature was last registered in the middle of nowhere in Kansas! Our baby was there!"

"Great, what sort of trouble has he gotten himself into?" Jack grumbled.

"Don't you see, Jack? It's our first lead since he went missing! It has something to do with LexCorp, or maybe even Lex Luthor himself!"

"So, what, all we have to do is hunt down a billionaire to find the imposter posing as our son?"

* * *

_17:30, Wednesday, March 21 — Amity Park, Ohio_

"Oh, Mayor Masters!" Pamela greeted upon opening the front door. "This *is* a surprise!"

Vlad uncharacteristically shifted in his fresh suit and offered a small smile.

"We were so disappointed you were unable to make it to the council meeting yesterday. The Damage and Aftereffect Relief Endowment petitioned for official recognition as a local-government-endorsed nonprofit, and we could have used your sway on the board!"

"Yes, I was unfortunately *held hostage* at another business meeting," he explained with a knowing grin.

Mrs. Manson, none the wiser, merely chuckled. "So to what do we owe the pleasure this afternoon?"

"I was rather hoping to have a private word with your daughter, actually," he said, "if she is available?"

"Oh," Pamela replied, deflating slightly. "Does it have to do with that missing Fenton boy?"

"I'm afraid it does, albeit in a roundabout way."

"SAMMIEKINS!" she shouted, Vlad wincing under the eagle's shriek passing as her voice. "This town would be better off without him, or any of the Fentons, if I'm being honest."

"Mmm," Vlad hummed in somber agreement. "Yet I hate to see Maddie so distressed."

"I suppose I…empathize with her," Mrs. Manson conceded. After a beat, she turned around again and shouted once more, "SAM!"

A distant upstairs door slammed open. _"What do you want?!"_ Sam screamed back.

"The mayor is here to talk to you about your little friend who's missing!"

" _Tell him to acquaint his lips with my backside!"_

Pamela grimaced and exchanged a silent yet fatigued 'Kids' look with the mayor. "Samantha Manson, you come downstairs right now or I'll have your room resprayed pink again!"

" _UGH."_ Heavy footfalls stormed down the sweeping staircase until a glaring Sam was in view. "This better be good, Masters."

Pamela seemed about to scold her, but in an instant her demeanor changed. "I'll give you two some privacy. If you need me, I will be clipping flowers for a bouquet as a thank you to this fine gentleman for gracing our household with his presence." And with that, she somewhat robotically left the room.

With crossed arms, Sam skeptically repeated, " 'For gracing our household with his presence?'"

"Yes, not my finest work, but we needn't convince anyone else besides her. Shall we?" He gestured to the lounge adjoining the entry hall.

"Why should I?"

Not a moment later, Tucker came flying intangibly through the wall, screaming all the while. The Plasmius duplicate carrying the boy unceremoniously dropped him onto a sofa.

"I could have walked, you know!" Tucker huffed.

"What's going on?" Sam demanded.

"An exchange of information. We had a deal, after all."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oooo, what *does* Vlad have to share? I guess we'll find out next month!
> 
> This month's references and general notes:
> 
> \- Mercy and Luthor's interaction ("Brilliant." "Really?" "Yes, brilliant impression of an idiot.") is one of Sherlock and Anderson's best verbal jousts from BBC Sherlock.
> 
> \- In case it isn't perfectly clear, Vlad overshadowed Pamela Manson with a duplicate.
> 
> \- Another cameo by fanon character Walt Weston, Wes Weston's father who works as Vlad's personal assistant.
> 
> \- John and Mary Grayson's death scene, as a PTSD-ish sort of trigger moment.
> 
> \- The destruction of a miniature golf course in the 'Kindred Spirits' episode where we first meet Dani. Obviously, these events are what REALLY occurred back in chapters 3 (the other side of Vlad's mysterious phone call) and 6 (when Kid Flash and Robin infiltrate Axion Labs).
> 
> \- Mentions of and preparation for the Reach, the primary villain of Young Justice season 2 (which hasn't happened yet in this story).
> 
> \- For those of you who are wondering, this is a sister facility to the one visited in S2E12 'True Colors.' Mine is outside Lebanon, Kansas; the 'True Colors' location is in Smallville which is an indeterminate distance away.
> 
> \- If you remember, pre-switch Robin found Danny's wallet in the alley when the A-Listers ambushed him leaving Tucker's that Saturday (chapter 6).
> 
> \- 22 Bishopsgate is a real skyscraper in London which was under construction at the time this story takes place (March 2018).
> 
> See any other references I might have forgotten to mention? Let me know!
> 
> I'm thinking/hoping chapter 14 won't be delayed as well because the pressure at school has lessened. But, the publishing schedule will now be adjusted to account for this chapter's publish date. Meaning, chapter 14 is coming out one month from today rather than one month from when this chapter should have published.
> 
> Your feedback and reviews give me life! Thanks to everyone who provides reactions; you help me gauge whether I am on track with this story as far as impact, surprise and emotional destruction goes :)))
> 
> Stay classy!


	14. The Grapevine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well, well, well, I see you've come back for more. We finally find out just what Vlad was up to back at the hospital. Well, of course, *I've* known all along, but it's time for *you* to find out. Standard creeper fruitloop warnings apply. And then…
> 
> …well, you'll just have to see. :) Keep an eye out for cameos and references as usual!
> 
> A big shoutout to my wonderful betas who help make this story as wonderful as it is!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "This is dialogue."
> 
> "This is alternative dialogue, meaning whispered or spoken from a distance such as on the phone."
> 
> 'This is thought.'
> 
> This (italics) and THIS and *this* are emphasis. The *this* emphasis is more along the lines of the snarky or sarcastic.
> 
> [This is digital text, such as notifications on a computer or smartphone.]
> 
> I do not own Danny Phantom nor Young Justice.
> 
> Ch. 14 originally published: Friday, August 9, 2019

 

_17:35, Wednesday, March 21 — Amity Park, Ohio_

Only the distant, subterranean crashing of bowling pins disturbed the serenity of the Manson residence. Somewhat uncharacteristically, Vlad shifted under Sam and Tucker's gazes. He sat in a chair opposite the teens' shared loveseat, the most divided seating arrangement possible while still technically sitting together in the same room. Sam reclined, arms crossed and gaze falsely unperturbed. Tucker instead leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees, his right thumb and index finger forming an 'L' to support his jaw as he glared.

Vlad glanced between the two a few times and cleared his throat. "Not many researchers fully appreciate the impact of ectoplasm on the prefrontal cortex of the brain. To a certain extent, it deregulates one's impulse control and reasoning. That is why ghosts are so commonly associated with an 'obsession;' the fact that they are entirely made of ectoplasm means that any lingering hint of the prefrontal cortex has been completely subdued, thus they have little to no power over themselves. Hence the reason why Skulker is my most valuable assistant and bounty hunter; his obsession with tracking and capturing is virtually uninhibited."

"Fascinating," Sam drawled.

Vlad ignored her quip and continued, "In humans its effect can be highly unpredictable, though it noticeably affects human physiology in extreme concentrations. The effects of gradual, ambient exposure in lab conditions with proper safety measures will be negligible. When you take a blast directly to the head as I did, however…

"Well, you can only imagine what such an extreme concentration of ectoplasm accelerated into the prefrontal cortex can do."

"Drive you loco?" Sam offered.

"Go full-on fruitloop?" Tucker added.

Vlad leveled an indignant glare before continuing. "The ecto-acne was the least of my concerns. It took years for the ectoplasm in my system to balance and distribute, giving me the abilities I now possess, but in those early days, I had a difficult time controlling my new abilities, let alone impulse control." Vlad massaged a phantom pain in his wrist. "I may have isolated myself from Jack and Maddie, but I assure you, it was only because I recognized an ugly truth about myself: The ectoplasmic exposure manifested my love for Maddie into irreconcilable mania. For her own sake, I had to stay away.

"But then…I heard she was pregnant again."

Sam did her best to hide her slight, concerned frown.

"Jasmine had been uncomplicated: predictable, on-time, healthy, a textbook pregnancy and birth. When Daniel was coming along, everything seemed to be the same, so Jack and Maddie took a spontaneous last-minute transatlantic cruise. By that point, I had a mere modicum of control over my powers, so naturally I thought it would be best to…secretly accompany them and look out for her in case anything did go wrong."

"You stalked them?!" Tucker blurted.

"I am not proud of my earliest decisions after receiving my powers, apart from the ones which would lead to my incredible wealth and prowess. But, I assure you, I did my best to keep my distance from the disgustingly happy couple.

"Everything was fine until Paris. Day two of their stay, and Maddie went into labor while touring the historic center."

* * *

_Sixteen Years and Two Days Prior — 16:20, Tuesday, March 19 — L'Hôpital Hôtel-Dieu, Paris, France_

The hospital staff quickly produced a wheelchair for Maddie as they whisked her from the waiting area. It had only been minutes since her water broke on the steps of the nearby Nôtre-Dame.

"Do not weurry, Madame Fenton," the nurse encouraged in her best English. She gripped the expectant mother's hand and squeezed it in reassurance. "It 'appens all ze time. Your leettle miracle is simply early, zat is all."

Maddie, amidst her Lamaze breathing, managed to offer a small nod and smile of acknowledgement.

The nurse and the Fentons soon found themselves in a delivery room where a doctor stood waiting. While the nurse situated Maddie in the bed, Jack tossed their travel day pack onto a chair and went dutifully to his wife's side.

"J-jazz, how's Jazz?" Maddie grunted through the pain.

"I'll call your mom and find out, hm?" Jack assured, and stepped out to find a phone and contact his in-laws.

Before he could get far, though, the doctor emerged and called after him. "Mister Fenton, might I have a word?"

Jack nodded and waited for the man to catch up. "Is everything alright?"

The doctor sighed. "I was wondering if there were any complications during your daughter's birth?"

"N-no, I don't think so," Jack answered, anxiety growing. "I think the doctors used the word 'textbook' to describe it. Wh—why, is something wrong? Is my son okay?!"

"We are detecting an abnormal heart rate for the baby. Now, it is not an immediate — _euh comment-dit-on_ — 'red flag,' as you say, but if there are any patterns between this and the previous birth, we can avert any potential disaster."

"No, nothing that I know of, doctor."

"Not to worry, Mister Fenton. We will monitor your wife and child closely and take immediate action if and when necessary."

"Thank you. Can you please direct me to a phone which I can use to make an international call?"

"Certainly, sir."

—

" _Of course, that was only the start," Vlad continued in his narrative. "Delivery lasted hours, so long that it was early the next morning when Daniel was finally born. They didn't know, of course, but I had stayed on hand watching in my new ghost form, disguised in a doctor's lab coat in case my invisibility failed. It was rough on everyone, but then, a few minutes after Daniel was finally born…"_

—

An intern held the baby close while Jack comforted and congratulated Maddie. Everyone present basked in the relief after hours of anguish and worry. But, the intern immediately noticed something was amiss with the boy in his hands."Il n'respire pas…" _('He's not breathing…')_

"Quoi?" _('What?')_ the doctor replied, midway through setting aside his instruments after the apparently successful delivery.

The intern gently pressed his finger to the boy's jaw and waited. "C'est pas un pouls…C'est- Docteur, c'est pas un pouls!" _('There isn't a pulse? There's- Doctor, there's no pulse!')_

The doctor dropped his tools and dashed to the intern's side to confirm as the younger man began attempting resuscitation. He took over and shouted, "Infermiere! Venez venez venez! Maintenant!" _('Nurse! Come come come! Now!')_

The nurse who had originally comforted Maddie sprinted into the room. They tried repeatedly to revive baby Daniel, but to no avail. Without a word, the intern placed newborn Daniel Fenton into a waiting isolette and rushed to the Natal Intensive Care Unit with the doctor in tow. Their nurse stayed behind to calm and encourage the Fenton parents.

"Docteur, le bébé est mort…" _('Doctor, the baby is dead…')_ the intern said despondently.

The doctor had only lost a baby once in his career. "PAS ENCORE!" _('NOT YET!')_ he shouted.

—

" _They whisked young Daniel away so quickly, I lost track of them. It took me a few minutes to find where they had gone."_

—

Plasmius crept invisibly into the NICU room with an uncomfortable sensation in his core. He could not yet place the feeling, though he would later recognize the odd feeling as his ghost sense. He resolved himself to serving as sentry for the revived Fenton baby and making sure everything was alright, especially now that the staff had busied themselves with the other babies in the room—two Grayson twins, based on the charts. The incessant beeping of the EKG machine had never sounded so comforting to the man.

Vlad stared lovingly down at Maddie's creation. It had been a long time since Vlad was able to be so near a newborn; in fact, he struggled to remember any time he had had a chance at such proximity. That his first time should be with the offspring of his dear Maddie only served to make the occasion all the more fulfilling.

Vlad gently gripped the edge of the isolette and smiled down on the boy with his blue beanie and scrunched eyes. A few wires and tubes reminded him the situation was far from ideal, but Vlad overlooked their presence. His Maddie had a _son_ who was _safe_ and _alive_.

"Vla-?"

The sudden squawk of noise caused Vlad to jolt and momentarily lose grip on his erratic ghost powers. A large spark of ecto-electricity jumped from his hand and sparked around both isolettes in the NICU room.

' _No…No no no no no!'_ he mentally cried.

The EKG machines erupted into total alarm. The Fenton isolette's EKG flatlined, and one of the Grayson twin's EKG's started beeping once more. Vlad panicked, accidentally releasing another, larger arc of electricity which overloaded the breaker and plunged the ward into temporary blackout.

The NICU was in instant chaos as some of the doctors and nurses tried to restore power to the room via the backup generator while the remainder attempted to assess the condition of the dozens of babies throughout the wing.

In those few seconds before the power returned, Vlad confirmed that Daniel Fenton's breathing had stopped. Not quite trusting the EKG, he reached an intangible hand inside the isolette and felt for a pulse.

Nothing.

He had killed Daniel Fenton.

He had killed Maddie's son.

Panic, hypertension, lunacy, mania, psychosis: none of these words adequately describe the degree to which Vlad had crazed in that moment. His thought process in total shutdown, Vlad saw there was only one thing for it:

Surely these Graysons, whoever they are, wouldn't need both their babies if his Maddie would be getting _none...?_

With the hospital staff still distracted, Vlad made quick invisible work of disconnecting the deceased Fenton child from his EKG and other systems and replacing him with the live twin in the red beanie.

' _Sorry, Richard,'_ Vlad thought to himself.

He hardly had time to reconnect new-Danny's EKG wires before power was restored. Fortunately, this momentarily distracted the staff from the Grayson isolette, affording Vlad a moment to reconnect the wires for new-Richard.

It seemed as if…he had gotten away with it. 'Danny Fenton' was now alive and well, the Grayson family still had the baby in the yellow beanie, and the baby in blue-

The baby in blue!

Vlad's invisible vision darted around the room looking for something to allow him to steal just a moment more with the babies; surely the nurses would notice a change in color of the beanies. There! A storage cabinet sat ajar. He reached out and pushed a number of glass containers off the shelf and onto the floor. The shattering glass naturally caught the nurses' attention instantly.

One nurse aggressively removed a glove and thrust it to the floor. "Putain de verre!" _('Fucking glass!")_ he shouted and stalked over to clean up the mess.

Not 10 seconds later, the blue beanie had returned to 'Danny Fenton's' head, and the red had returned to the late 'Richard Grayson.' Vlad allowed himself a moment to release a long, relieved breath as he gripped and leaned against the Graysons' isolette.

Spark.

Curse his powers. Curse his college-era parascientific fascination. Curse the bumbling fool Jack Fenton! Because Vlad once more momentarily lost control over his abilities and released one final, small arc of ecto-electricity. To his horror, it didn't disperse in the isolette's construction.

Instead, it restarted red-beanied Danny Fenton's heart, and it _stopped_ that of the Grayson in the yellow beanie, 'James.'

"Butter brickle," Vlad muttered lower than a whisper. If he didn't act quickly, the Fentons would be going home with the only surviving Grayson, while the Graysons would leave with the Fenton child.

But it was at this moment that the red-beanied, actually-Danny-Fenton began to stir and opened his shockingly blue eyes.

Danny's…had been violet.

Vlad would know; he was there at the moment of delivery as well. Daniel Fenton entered the world earlier that morning on March 20, 2002 and opened his vibrant violet eyes before going into cardiac arrest. And now, the baby who _had_ been in the Fenton crib—now wearing the red beanie—was never Daniel to begin with, so where was the true Fenton?

Vlad raced to the Fenton isolette to check the resuscitated Grayson-in-blue's eyes. Sure enough; they were an arctic blue as well. Which meant…

Vlad hesitated before returning to check the deceased, yellow-beanied baby's eyes. He reached in and gently lifted the eyelids, and-

Vlad fell backwards and slammed into the EKG machines, losing his grip on his invisibility. His as-yet-manifesting ghost form consisted of blood-red eyes, ink-black hair and blue skin, though it lacked the musculature and aura which would come to define his Plasmius persona in the coming years. It appeared his preemptive donning of a lab coat would come in handy after all.

"Putain de merde!" _('Holy shit!')_ the same nurse exclaimed. "D'où viens-tu?!" _('Where did you come from?!')_

"Um…uh…scusay-ma!" _('Excusez-moi!' / 'Pardon me!')_ he blurted in broken French.

Vlad bolted out the door and down the hallway, forgetting all the while he could simply phase through a wall and lose any pursuers instantly.

* * *

"OW!" Vlad rubbed his nose, still recovering from Kid Flash's prior assault. "Will you all quit punching me!"

"I can't believe you'd switch those innocent babies when you didn't even know better!" Sam steamed.

"What about Dani?" Tucker whispered.

"That's different," she hissed back.

In truth, Dani had operated under Clockwork's explicit instruction to switch the babies. Vlad had indeed acted on his own selfish agenda.

"Look, I do not know how the 'real' Daniel Fenton was already in the other isolette," Vlad said. "In my frantic state of mind, I was half-convinced I had gone insane. Regardless, I know for a _fact_ I switched the babies in blue and red. How the true Daniel Fenton ended up in the yellow beanie has haunted me to this very day."

Thanks to their previous conversation with Dani when Vlad had first been taken, Sam and Tucker knew exactly how. The girl had arrived before Vlad and swapped the true James Grayson with the true Daniel Fenton. Vlad, therefore, swapped the true James with the true Richard.

Tucker found himself reeling.

"Little did I know that the other living baby in that room would become such an important figure, or that this whole affair would come back to haunt me in such a way. And yet…here we are, one child his parents' own nemesis and local hero, the other an extremely public figure in both of his identities. I had hoped that the whole sordid affair would fade into the fabric of time and allow both boys to flourish in their own independent realities, but I suppose the strings of fate decided to tie them more closely together than I had ever anticipated."

Sam and Tucker sat silent in utter shock.

"Well, I have told you all I know. I believe I have fulfilled my half of our bargain, just as you did yours," Vlad said as he stood. "I never thought I would be thankful to you two meddling kids, yet here we are. For what it's worth, I hope young Daniel is found and recovered swiftly."

"Wait, that's _it?!"_ Sam snapped as she stood as well. "You're telling me you swapped some babies around and altered TWO families' lives forever, and you dare to have a laissez-faire, 'Oh, well, what can you do?' attitude?!"

"How _dare-_ " Vlad growled.

"Sam-" Tucker began.

"NO!" the girl snapped, wheeling on her friend. "Who _knows_ what could have been if Vlad had never interfered!"

"We might never have had a Danny!" Tucker spat back.

Sam and Vlad both stilled.

Tucker looked between them before dropping his gaze and loosely gripping his elbow. "There could have been no Danny. No NASA geek to drag us halfway across the country to space camp, no Dumpty Humpty fan to rock out with, no—no superpowered weirdo to get us involved in crazy adventures and make our pointless teenage lives _mean_ something. Yeah, Vlad's a creeper who messed with 2 families' futures and he _seriously_ needs therapy; But, there could have been no Danny, and you and I may never have been friends because of him."

Sam released a deep, fatigued sigh before looking back to Vlad.

"Y-yes, well…" Vlad coughed once into his fist. "I think I've done and said enough for today."

Pamela chose that moment to enter the room carrying some fresh-cut flowers. "Oh, are you leaving? I've brought you some daffodils. They signify respect and admiration," she added with stars in her eyes.

"Oh, thank you, my dear," Vlad cooed and accepted the bouquet. "I will certainly make a point of attending the next council meeting at which DARE will be petitioning."

* * *

_Slightly Earlier That Evening — 17:31, Wednesday, March 21 — Central City, Missouri_

_*Ping*_

The gloriousness of Wally's after-school nap slowed his response to the sound. He rolled sluggishly on his home's sofa, distancing his mouth from the drool spot on the cushion.

It was such a peaceful afternoon at the West household. His mother's humming drifted through the house as she prepared dinner. Just outside the open window, Wally's father, amidst sporadic grunts from weeding the flowerbed outside, carried on a jovial chat with their next door neighbor. A sleeping white pit bull puppy named Brucely—the latest addition to the West household as a result of Artemis' influence—draped himself spread-eagle over Wally's hip.

_*Ping*_

Wally scrunched his eyes before rubbing and finally opening them. He stretched and collapsed in place, overwhelmed by the stretch's relief. Brucely grunted his disapproval of the shift but settled right back into place.

_*Pingpingpingpingping*_

Wally twisted to reach for his phone. It was a string of texts from Artemis' civilian number.

Arty: _[Hey turn on the news]_

Arty: _[News. Now.]_

Arty: _[WALLY.]_

Arty: _[TURN]_

Arty: _[ON]_

Arty: _[THE]_

Arty: _[NEWS]_

Wally fumbled for the TV remote and switched the set to GBN.

" _-amidst reports of a new agricultural venture,"_ Cat Grant reported. _"LexCorp director Lex Luthor's presence is critical to establishing the multinational corporation's position in the undertaking, connecting the Her Majesty's Treasury with local developers in Qurac. We now go to the doorstep of 10 Downing Street, where Mr. Luthor addressed the assembled press outside the famed London residence of the Prime Minister earlier this evening."_

The interview switched to a recording where Luthor stood in front of a microphone. _"LexCorp's experimental technology division pledges to be the inter-continental middleman for this new development scheme,"_ he said. _"With Her Majesty's funding, my corporation will be able to step in and allow rural Qurac villages to increase agricultural production and flourish as individual communities."_

" _Mister Luthor,"_ one reporter asked, _"many fear this is a first step in reestablishing British colonial influence in the Middle East. Do you have any comments?"_

" _LexCorp's involvement will ensure that Qurac continues to operate as a politically independent trade partner of the United Kingdom."_

" _And what about LexCorp's presence in the nation? Are we going to have another Nestle situation?"_

" _No further questions."_ Luthor proceeded inside the Prime Minister's residence.

Wally scrambled for his uniform.

* * *

_17:50, Wednesday, March 21 — Mount Justice, Happy Harbor, Rhode Island_

"Luthor's presence in London as well as increased zeta beam radiation in and around LexCorp's build site in Bishopsgate is all the confirmation we need." Batman instructed the assembled protégés. "The search and rescue operation for Robin and Danny Fenton has been green-lit by the League. Unfortunately, my covert presence is required in Rhelasia for a confidential mission above your security clearance, so the team will have to proceed with the operation without League assistance.

"As you proceed, I fear it is purposeless to remind you of the clandestine nature of your task, but I must reiterate the importance of covert operation. Miss Martian, prepare the bioship for departure later this evening."

"Yes, Batman," Miss Martian said.

"We do not know what array of monitoring systems are currently installed on site since it is still under construction, however we can assume that the Light will be anticipating League protégé intervention. Due to their familiarity with the bioship and its cloaking mechanisms, aerial and surface infiltration are not recommended. Therefore, you will proceed to the site in disguise via the Underground network from London City Airport and use the network of subterranean access tunnels to approach."

"But how are we going to get in?" Zatanna asked.

"M'gann, how has your phase shifting been progressing?"

"Uh…almost there, Batman," she weakly informed.

"It will have to be 'there.' You protégés have taken on the entirety of the Injustice League with fewer members than are currently present; I'm sure you are capable of getting past a few padlocked doors. Are your orders clear?"

"Have Tucker and Sam been informed?" Kid Flash asked.

"Why should they be?" Batman parried.

"They don't even know he's been taken captive. Besides, they have worked closely with Danny in a variety of situations and might be able to help."

"You wish to involve _civilian teenagers_ in an _intercontinental Justice League protégé operation?"_

"Well-"

"No. Prepare yourselves for departure. This briefing is over."

Batman left via zeta tube.

The protégés turned to see Kid Flash steaming.

"Wally-" M'gann began.

"Wouldn't you want to help or even just _know_ if it was you?" he spat. "He's their best friend."

"But they do not have League authorization, protection, or diplomatic immunity," she countered. "Nor do they have known metahuman capabilities."

"Neither does Artemis. Or—or Rob."

"Kid Flash, we already have enough difficulty overpowering and outwitting Cadmus and LexCorp employees as it is," Aqualad said. "Adding two more civilians to look after will not help our focus."

"Well, they should at least know where he is."

"Kid Flash, do not engage Sam and Tucker until we know more, that is an ord-"

" _Recognized: Kid Flash B-03._ "

M'gann released a deep sigh. "Shoot."

* * *

_18:04, Wednesday, March 21 — Amity Park, Ohio_

It had the makings of a pleasant spring evening as Tucker trudged home from Sam's. The sun hid behind partial cloud cover and cast golden rays onto Amity Park's sleepy neighborhoods.

"Stupid fruitloop with his stupider obsessions," Tucker grumbled to himself. He huffed, kicking a stone on the sidewalk and watched it ricochet across the pavement into the street.

The entire community seemed to have been subdued with the disappearance of Danny Fenton. Parents who normally let their kids play outside kept them close instead, afraid that they would run away as well. Not even a ghost attack disturbed the peace.

"Hey, man."

"GAH!" Tucker shouted and recoiled. Kid Flash stood in full uniform next to where the techno geek had just been walking. It took a moment for Tucker's heart rate and breathing to drop down to normal again. "Don't do that, dude!"

"Sorry," Kid Flash grumbled. He looked down the road in the direction of Tucker's house. "Can I, uh, walk with you?"

Tucker frowned at Kid Flash's hopeful expression. "Um…sure."

The pair began to meander down the street, neither in any hurry to reach their destination.

"So, uh, why are you back in Amity Park? Not that it isn't nice to see you again," Tucker finally spoke.

"Again? We haven't met-" Kid Flash attempted.

"Dude, come on, I'm not stupid," Tucker said. "We both know that we both know more than we both…think." He momentarily mouthed his words back to himself to try to make sense of them. "Besides, Wally, your appearance changes a heck of a lot less than Danny's."

"Eh, touché," Wally conceded and pushed his goggles back onto his forehead. "I was never big on the whole 'secret identity' thing anyway. Makes things too complicated."

"You don't even know the half of it," Tucker chuckled. "Anyway, why are you here? Is Danny okay?"

"Um…"

Tucker stopped walking. "Wait…you hesitated."

"He's kind of…captive?" Wally offered weakly.

"Captive?! Oh, man, why the heck didn't Vlad tell us that?!" Tucker exhaled and continued walking.

"I dunno; he's kind of a creeper."

"More like a fruitloop."

Kid Flash huffed a single chuckle.

"So who has him?"

"A secret terrorist organization got him while we were rescuing Masters."

"Not the Light?!"

"Yes, the L- Wait, how do you know about that? They're secret!"

"The online data acquisition community is very skeptical of certain 'upstanding,' prominent members of the business world. But anyway, Danny didn't…um…?"

Kid Flash sensed Tucker's reluctance to reveal any more information than necessary. "No, he didn't 'ghost' his way out. Too many witnesses, plus he wasn't really—well, he thought he saw his brother get murdered in front of him, so-"

"Wait, what?"

"Turns out Robin was a clone." Wally shoved his hands in his suit's pockets. "Has been since last Saturday. But Danny didn't know that and then 'Robin' got caught and shot in the head because he'd gone rogue or something. But Vlad told us Robin was actually a clone, so everything's fine, right?"

Tucker looked at him in shock. "Fine? Dude, your best friend—our best friends are missing and being held prisoner by a secret terrorist organization. I'd hardly call that 'fine.'"

"Well, you gotta find a way to cope in this kind of life, you know?" Kid Flash said with a shrug. "Find a silver lining. Keep going until everything actually _is_ fine."

"Are you—are you doing okay?" Tucker threw an arm around the superhero's shoulders.

"I dunno." He shrugged again. "Just—he's going through so much. And there's nothing I can do until we get to Lond- …Wait. I shouldn't say that. Nevermind."

"Lond-what?"

"Nothing."

" _Tell me._ "

"I'm not allowed."

Tucker used his arm to stop the yellow-suited protégé in his tracks. "Damn it, you freakin' turbocharged french fry, if you know where my friend is, tell me!"

"Ugh, Batman's gonna kill me," Wally grumbled and rolled his eyes. "There's a skyscraper under construction in London's banking district and Vlad said Luthor might be taking Danny and Robin there. Our team's on the way there this evening to investigate."

"Huh…" Tucker began wondering how long it might be until the Fenton Satellite was ready for another overboosting. He continued walking, and Kid Flash followed. "The Fenton's are on high alert now, so there's no _way_ Sam and I can get away with 'borrowing' the Speeder again…" Tucker mused aloud.

"Batman doesn't think you guys should come anyway."

Tucker gave a short laugh. "Sorry, _what?_ We're the ones that got you all involved in the first place! _"_

"The Light is not exactly merciful on kids."

"You think we care? He's our friend!"

"You think your ghost gadgets will help you against humans?"

Tucker frowned. "Well…that's true." _'Ghost gadgets against humans, perhaps not. But…a *ghost* against humans_ — _?'_ "Well, thanks for letting me know. Sam and I have been worried sick about Danny."

"Sure, man. It…didn't feel right keeping you guys in the dark. How has Amity been surviving the ghost attacks without its local hero?"

"Eh, the Fentons are coping for now. Hasn't been that much activity, fortunately."

"That's good. At least the Fentons are specially trained for that anyway."

Tucker fell silent as those words echoed in his mind: ' _Specially trained…'_

* * *

"Tucker!" Maddie greeted with only a measure of her usual warmth. "Can I help you?"

"No, but I can help you."

"Oh? Whatever for?"

"Danny."

Maddie dropped all pretenses. "Come downstairs."

Tucker followed her to the lab in the basement. "How has the Fenton Finder been working?"

"Perfectly. Though I wish the cells could replenish more rapidly."

"Mood."

Maddie perched on a stool. "So what is it, Tucker?"

"I-" Tucker paused to marvel at the wide array of ecto and standard weaponry arranged neatly on Mrs. Fenton's workbench. "I have some news about Danny. Mostly bad, but…it's a lead."

Maddie tensed.

"One of the Justice League protégés informed me he's been taken captive by a secret terrorist organization."

"Not the Light?!"

"Yes, th- …Wait, how do *you* know about the Light?"

"I can't believe those wackos have my son!"

"Look, Mrs. F., Sam and I can't go because the Justice League thinks this might be over our heads."

"Why are the Justice League and the Light involved in Danny's disappearance?"

"I can't really explain, it's…complex. And confidential."

' _Boy, I *invented* confidential.'_

"But I _can_ tell you they're going to London where they think the Light might be holding Danny in one of LexCorp's facilities," Tucker continued. "From what I found, I think they mean a skyscraper currently under construction in the Bank District."

"Hm." Maddie's gaze was so piercing that Tucker felt positively transparent. "So why come to me? Why not just steal our Speeder again and take Sam to rescue him by yourself?"

"Borrow, we _BORROWED_ it!" Tucker sighed. "But, for once I think the adults may be right. As you now know, Sam and I have a lot of experience helping Danny fight ghosts, but non-obsession-driven humans? With guns and developed strategy and stuff? I don't think Sam and I could cut it. I mean, these aren't the useless Guys in White. Plus, now there's no _way_ we'd be able to sneak away without all you adults finding out, and then Sam and I would be grounded till kingdom come."

"You're talking awfully casually for a teenager who let me ignorantly hunt my own son for years without blinking an eye."

The boy winced. "Yeah, well…the situation's changed. You know that Sam and I are more capable and involved than you thought, and you're apparently more badass than *we* thought. So on that note, I came to you because you mentioned having training. Training in _what_ , exactly?"

"Unimportant."

"Mrs. _F,"_ he prodded.

Maddie thought for a moment, apparently sizing up the boy. She meaningfully roved her vision over her personal arsenal on display, letting Tucker appreciate its full extent. Finally, the woman pursed her lips and gave a curt nod before locking eyes with Tucker. "Ever heard of the North Korean invasion of downtown San Francisco?"

"…No?"

" _You're welcome."_

* * *

_18:30, Wednesday, March 21 — Amity Park, Ohio_

"Now come on, Mads, this is ridiculous," Jack argued. "You can't seriously expect to fly halfway around the world and then find _him_ , especially now that the Justice League's involved?"

"Like hell I can't," she barked and stuffed some more clothing into her black duffle bag. "My baby boy is out there, and he needs help."

"Well, I'm coming with you," Jack insisted, and went to the closet to get a bag of his own.

"No. You'll only slow me down."

"Like hell I would!"

"I need you back here manning the Fenton Finder. It will be more efficient than us both doing everything in the field."

"But you're not a one-woman rescue squad, you're just a-"

"Just a what?" Maddie interrupted and paused her packing. "Just a ninth-degree blackbelt? Just an expert markswoman? Just a master hunter, ghost or otherwise? Just a genius scientist? I never say anything about the order of power in this household so everyone can get along just fine in their delusions, but let's get one thing straight, Jack Fenton: I am _NOT_ the docile, obsequious housewife everyone thinks I am. I'm more capable and qualified than you know." She returned to packing.

"You're right, I _don't_ know!" Jack answered. "So tell me what you aren't telling me!"

Maddie frowned and slammed their bedroom wall with the side of her fist to open a hidden panel. She withdrew an M16A2 rifle from inside.

* * *

_18:47, Wednesday, March 21 — Amity Park, Ohio_

Maddie hesitated at the doorbell. She let out a grunt of frustration before schooling her expression into something more despondent and finally ringing the bell.

Moments later, the door swung open to reveal a surprised Vladimir Masters. "Maddie!"

"I-" She choked slightly on her words. "I n-need your…h-help."

Vlad's smile oozed endearment. "Of course, my dear, come on in." He escorted her to his private study whose windows had yet to be repaired.

"What happened in here?" Maddie asked.

"An unfortunate kidnapping, from which I was swiftly liberated."

"Oh, my!"

"Worry not, my dear. All part of life in the corporate world, I'm afraid. Now," he said and gestured for Maddie to take a seat opposite his desk. "I must say this is a nice change from our more recent interactions. It's a blessing you've managed to go two minutes without pouring steaming-hot tea on my head," he added with a cool, amused expression.

"Oh…yes…that," Maddie murmured. She painted her face with regret. "I'm sorry about that, Vlad. I don't deal well with romantic advances."

"You know, I've had some time to reflect on my behavior, and I see now that I was out of line," the man admitted. "I have always loved and adored you, Maddie, and nothing can ever change that. But I must accept that I have no chance."

"Yes, well…knowing that makes this somewhat more difficult. I hope you don't think I'm taking advantage of your feelings when I ask this of you."

"Ask…what, exactly?"

"I need your jet."

Vlad blinked. "I'm sorry?"

Tears falling, Maddie sniffled and rummaged in her purse for a tissue. "I've just missed Danny so much. My innocent little boy, running away from home—and completely out of the blue! He's been improving his grades, getting better about his curfew… Everything has been going so well, and then he does this!" She blew her nose.

Vlad furrowed his brow with concern.

"Apparently he emailed Tucker to say he's in London now," Maddie said, and Vlad's concern began to evaporate. "I don't know how he got there without taking his passport, but Danny's been rather good at slipping away." She hesitated. "I need to get to London to find him, and I need to be able to pursue if he runs. Vlad, dear...I do know how you feel about me, and I'm not blind to your for affection for Danny as well. — Don't act like I don't know about the will; I still think you should tell him. — But…please, do it for his sake, if not for mine. My boy is lost in the world, maybe being held prisoner somewhere." Maddie let one final tear roll down her cheek. _"Please."_

Vlad looked her up and down. She was the picture of desperation and regret, but that was the problem. It felt...out of character for her. Plus, he knew for a fact that Danny couldn't have emailed Tucker. He sighed. "I know you are a very capable woman, and though I have a feeling you know more than you're letting on, I agree to help. I have no need of the jet until next month anyway."

"Thank you, Vlad. I really appreciate it."

"Of course, my dear." Vlad stood, and Maddie followed suit. "I will have it prepared at once, so you can depart within the hour. I just need to make a few…arrangements first."

"Of course."

"Now, you'd better get a move on!" Vlad shooed her out the front door, thought for a moment, then stalked to his lab.

* * *

_19:38, Wednesday, March 21 — Amity Park, Ohio_

Tucker shoveled another handful of Cheetos into his mouth. "Hook, line and sinker, I'm telling you."

Sam shoved another bottle of water into Dani's pack. "Yeah? And you really think it's a good idea to get Danny's mom even more involved? Won't she be in the way?"

"Why not? Mrs. F's clearly hiding something—which even *I* can't find online—and whatever it was trained her to be a total badass." A bite of jerky. "Besides, her tracking skills plus Mr. Fenton acting as her 'guy in a chair' plus my technological intervention: it's a recipe for success to help lead Dani straight to Danny."

"Yeah. And while she's fending off the Light goons," Dani added, lacing up her shoe, "I can go and actually get Danny out of there."

Tucker heard his computer sound an alert and spun his desk chair to face the screen. "Alright, the Dalv Co. corporate jet has just pulled up to the terminal for Mrs. F. to get on, and a flight plan for London City Airport was just added to air traffic control's log," Tucker checked the clock. "It's less than 10 minutes until scheduled takeoff. Dani, you think you can get there in time?"

"Sure, no problem," she assured.

"Great!" Sam said. "At least Mrs. Fenton will have a little Team Phantom help, even if she doesn't know it."

"I've just sent the address and building schematics to your phone," Tucker said, and Dani's phone pinged accordingly. "If all else fails, just follow Mrs. Fenton."

"Will do," Dani agreed. She put on her pack, transformed and flew straight to the airport where a plane in Dalv Co livery was taxi'ing onto the runway. She landed invisibly inside, inches away from literally running into a worried Maddie Fenton. Dani backed slowly away towards the shut door at the back of the plane.

A blonde flight attendant emerged from the cockpit. "Mrs. Fenton, Mr. Masters requests that you refrain from entering the bed chambers at the back of the plane," she informed.

"Of course," Maddie replied. "I doubt I'd sleep much anyway."

' _Maybe Vlad's stowing away himself, creeper-stalker that he is,'_ Dani thought to herself. _'I'll stick to being invisible in the cockpit.'_

Both women settled in for the nearly 8-hour overnight flight to London.

* * *

_11:50 Local Time, Thursday, March 22 — Undisclosed Location, London, UK_

Something was off when Danny awoke. He was inside some sort of containment which didn't feel…right. This glass cylinder wasn't simply to imprison him, per se; rather, it was more to sustain him. Danny gradually forced his eyes to focus on what was beyond the glass. It was some sort of darkened room, so poorly lit he could barely make out a single detail save what was bathed in the containment pod's puddle of illumination.

The boy still felt raw in every sense: emotionally raw from seeing his only true family member he had left be slaughtered in front of him; physically raw from being restrained; and mentally raw from not knowing what the _hell_ was going on anymore. Something just wasn't…

…right.

Most of all, though, something was off because of what woke him up: Him.

Not Robin-him. Not Dick-him. Not even _Danny_ -him. No; it was _Phantom_ -him.

Danny's eyes widened to their maximum aperture, mouth open in an enlarging 'O,' a scream ready to pierce the air.

Outside the pod, Phantom-him's eyes also widened, and he quickly raised his hands in a submissive manner. Stepping forward and speaking in a rushed voice, he said, "Okay, don't freak out…"

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gosh, everyone's manipulating everyone else…
> 
> This week's references:
> 
> \- Brucely, Artemis and Wally's future dog in seasons 2 and 3 of Young Justice, appearing here as a puppy
> 
> \- Shoutout to my favorite show growing up, Scooby Doo: Vlad calling Sam and Tucker 'meddling kids'
> 
> \- 'Guy in a chair:' a reference to my favorite MCU movie Spider-Man: Homecoming
> 
> \- The reporter's Nestle comment to Lex Luthor: a reference to the numerous controversies surrounding the Nestle corporation's bottling and monetizing of fresh water sources
> 
> I love hearing your guys and gals' reactions and feedback and engaging in conversation! Stay tuned for more :) Only a few chapters to go. What a ride it's been! I'll have to decide what to write next. There's a story idea I started playing around with featuring a crossover with the MCU Spider-Man, and another I was developing earlier; that one's with the Teen Titans and already has 130 pages drafted, though it's a little more angsty and probably needs a lot of reworking.
> 
> Keep an eye out in the next couple weeks for another Danny Phantom oneshot!


	15. Convergence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final battle is beginning, and everyone is descending upon London's Banking District to rescue our favorite raven-haired heroes.
> 
> Now: Who woke Danny?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good afternoon! Sorry for the week's delay in publishing. I practically had a heart attack when I realized how late I was, but my amazing betas came through for me. [Love you guys]
> 
> Plus, I uploaded a oneshot a couple weeks ago and kinda forgot that WASN'T a 'Recognized' update....

_12:00, Thursday, March 22 — 22 Bishopsgate, London, UK_

It had all started out as innocent fun.

When Lex Luthor suddenly made an appearance in the same city that the shapeshifter had randomly selected as his first destination after Amity Park, it seemed almost too good to be true. Nevertheless, Amorpho decided not to question his luck and instead capitalize on the opportunity to create international confusion and chaos.

Amorpho waited a few minutes after the real Luthor had entered the construction site before transforming to mimic the billionaire.

"Oh, hello again, Mr. Luthor," the foreman greeted. "Didn't you already go inside?"

"Yes," Amorpho replied, then he cleared his throat and switched to Lex Luthor's voice instead. "Yes, I forgot something in the car. May I enter?"

"Certainly, sir. Everyone is waiting for you in the seven storeys of the original building's core." The foreman stepped aside and gestured to an elevator. "Would you like me to accompany you?"

"No, no, that's quite alright. Thank you." With one final salesman's smile, Amorpho slipped into the elevator and began searching intangibly until he came across something quite familiar indeed.

* * *

_Minutes Earlier_ — _11:50, Thursday, March 22 — Undisclosed Location, London, UK_

Something was off when Danny awoke. He was inside some sort of containment which didn't feel…right. This glass cylinder wasn't simply to imprison him, per se; rather, it was more to sustain him. Danny gradually forced his eyes to focus on what was beyond the glass. It was some sort of darkened room, so poorly lit he could barely make out a single detail save what was bathed in the containment pod's puddle of illumination.

The boy still felt raw in every sense: emotionally raw from seeing the only true family member he had left be slaughtered in front of him; physically raw from being restrained; and mentally raw from not knowing what the _hell_ was going on anymore. Something else was off with his own physiology, too. There was some sort of indescribable imbalance, an imperfection within him. Something just wasn't…

…right.

Most of all, though, something was off because of what woke him up: Him.

Not Robin-him. Not Dick-him. Not even _Danny_ -him. No; it was _Phantom_ -him.

Danny's eyes widened to their maximum aperture, mouth open in an enlarging 'O,' a scream ready to pierce the air.

Phantom-him's eyes also widened, and he quickly raised his hands in a submissive manner. Stepping forward, and speaking in a rushed voice, he said, "Okay, don't freak out…"

* * *

_Hours Earlier — 19:00 Local Time, Wednesday, March 21 — Amity Park, Ohio_

Something was off when Danny awoke. He was inside some sort of containment which didn't feel…right. This glass cylinder wasn't imprisoning him, per se; rather, it was more to sustain him. Something else was off with his own physiology, too. There was some sort of indescribable imbalance, an imperfection within him. Something just wasn't…

…right.

Vlad's secret lab in Polter Heights. When would Danny have been _here?_ Of course, he was just here after being taken prisoner. But then…that was at his Colorado hunting lodge lair, and this was clearly the one below Masters' Polter Heights mansion.

Something was _definitely_ not right.

"Welcome to the world, Daniel."

Danny instinctively fought against his restraints at the sound of his arch nemesis' voice.

"Calm down, little badger. I'll let you out as soon as you calm down."

Danny scowled. Vlad sounding cooperative—sounding _kind_ —*that* was _definitely_ new. "What do you want, Fruit Loop? And what's the big idea sending that Dani-with-an-I girl after me?"

Vlad broke eye contact and sighed. "Nothing has gone according to plan; nothing at all. And you—you, my boy…you were to be my greatest triumph. Now…you will be my grand finale."

"What?"

Vlad opened a file on his computer and had the holographic screens display an array of photos, statistics, and developmental charts. "I thought you could be my last hurrah in cloning."

Danny's stomach plummeted.

"My last chance at having an apprentice, a loyal son, of sorts, to keep me company in my advancing age and train as an heir to my dynasty. Daniel—or should I say, Experiment 37—you are my swan song. I started you months ago after your original defeated my previous experiments and stabilized the one remaining rogue clone I had. You were my final attempt, completed using only the raw computer data I had after my other cloning lab was destroyed.

"But I see that I have plagued your original's life long enough. It is time for me to accept that I will never have that which I desire, perhaps as punishment for what I did all those years ago."

Danny's mind tried to come to terms with what he had just been told. "I—I'm not real?"

Vlad turned to him. "Oh, you are real as can be. You are simply not the original Danny Fenton. Tell me, what's the date today?"

Danny thought helplessly for a moment. "Um, well, yesterday we went to play mini-golf, which was Sunday, so…Monday, May 8th? Yeah, it's Monday, May 8th."

"And what year?"

"Twen-…2017?"

"That was almost a year ago, Daniel. Today is Thursday, March 22, 2018. Your last memory-"

"-Skulker's containment cube in your Colorado lab."

"Yes. It happened when Experiment 35—*Danielle*— was first activated. This consciousness of yours sources from what I was able to download while the real Daniel was unconscious. Since then, you have broken free, destroyed my research and equipment, and moved on with your life while Danielle runs around the world. Thanks to your little temper tantrum after Danielle helped you escape, my resources are no longer as sophisticated as Lex Luthor's, rendering me unable to manipulate your programming at all to be current or appropriately driven."

"Oh, now _Lex Luthor's_ involved? How is this supposed to make what you're saying any more believable?!"

Vlad stepped to the control panel and pressed a button, releasing Danny from his restraints. "Truth is often stranger than fiction, my dear boy."

Danny immediately transformed into Phantom and charged his hands with ectoplasm. "Oh, well *that* justifies everything. If I'm actually a clone like you're saying, where's your proof?"

Phantom desperately tried to ignore the sweat beading on his own brow.

Vlad unflinchingly quirked an eyebrow. "I would conserve my energy if I were you, *Experiment 37.*" He meaningfully directed his gaze at Phantom's upraised hands.

Feeling slightly queasy, the boy looked down at his arms. Something was _definitely_ not right.

Hazmat suits shouldn't _melt._

Now stricken with horror, Phantom looked back up at Vlad. "W-what did you do to me?"

"It's not what I've done but what I _haven't_ done," the elder man answered. "You were the result of months of experiments which very nearly brought me to a successful hybrid clone. The one mystery you were supposed to help me solve was that of stabilization of your human and ghost halves."

"S-s-stabilization?!" Phantom reabsorbed the ectoplasmic charges and immediately felt better.

"I'm afraid that prolonged usage of your powers will only accelerate the process. I must admit, this is not the purpose which I had planned to assign to you, but I'm afraid I have no choice but to activate you prematurely."

"Activate prema-" The parroted phrase died on the spiraling clone's lips as he reappraised his own condition and transformed back to 'Fenton.' "But if I'm not 'ready,' then…"

After a painful silence, the elder halfa realized what 'Danny' was trying to ask. With a sigh, Vlad explained, "Experiment 36 disintegrated the moment its pod was cracked open amidst a rescue attempt. Experiment 35 has lasted over a year now, though her development was more advanced upon activation. At your current state, I would say…one, maybe two days."

"Then—then why are you releasing me?"

"I have one final task to complete before I abandon this cloning pursuit entirely." Vlad closed the windows and brought up a photo of a skyscraper under construction on the other side of the globe. "Your original is in trouble because of me, and you must get him out. The Justice League is likely sending their protégés, and now 'your' mother is on her way to involve herself, but I have a feeling your presence will prove invaluable, if only to confuse the enemy and retrieve the true Daniel Fenton more efficiently."

'Danny' merely nodded, eyes never leaving his feet.

"Do you understand? You must save…yourself."

The clone looked up and frowned with determination. "Just know that I'm doing it for me—er, *him*—and _not_ for you."

"Fair enough." Vlad produced a pack from a drawer and tossed it to the clone. "A replica of Robin's—or in your original's case, _Red_ Robin's—uniform. They may have stripped Daniel of his when they put him into a pod. Bring this just in case such that he may attempt to maintain some semblance of a secret identity."

"So, where am I going?"

The man led 'Danny' to a computer display. "Everyone seems to think Lex Luthor will be keeping Daniel captive inside their future office building at 22 Bishopsgate, which is currently under construction. That is likely where the protégés and perhaps even my darling Maddie will go. I happen to know, however, that a subsidiary of LexCorp is renting significant amounts of office space in the neighboring Leadenhall building."

A three-dimensional holographic model opened on the display. It featured the two skyscrapers in question in addition to the surrounding blocks in lesser detail. Some of the upper floors of the Leadenhall tower were highlighted in red.

"I suspect Daniel may be in the Leadenhall offices instead of Bishopsgate, but no one else may think to check. I want you, therefore, to infiltrate these floors and try to find any sign of your original. Release him, equip him, and you can be on your way."

"Be on my way to _die_ , you mean," 'Danny' snarled.

"My jet leaves from Amity Park Airport in approximately 45 minutes," Vlad continued, ignoring the comment. "Lock yourself into the bed chambers during the flight, and I will instruct Madeline to stay away without revealing your presence…or existence. I want you to stay on the plane until it lands and take public transportation into town in disguise. It's no use bailing out during the plane's approach and flying into the centre when it will unnecessarily use up the limited reserve of ecto energy holding you together."

* * *

_11:50 Local Time, Thursday, March 22 — Undisclosed Location, London, UK_

Danny took in his duplicate's form: nearly identical in every way to his Phantom persona, even down to the eternally-semi-repaired tear in the left shoulder's seam. "W-wh-wha-what are you?" he sputtered.

"Experiment 37," Phantom-him said. "…Apparently."

"Experiment—?"

Phantom-him rolled his eyes. "Plasmius."

Danny grit his teeth and smashed a fist against his containment pod as violently as he could within the restraints. "Damnit, Vlad!"

"I know, what can ya do?" the clone asked with a shrug.

"So what are you here for, to butcher me?" Danny snipped.

"No, genius, to help," the other him replied. He pressed a button, and the cryostasis pod released the true Danny. "Vlad feels like he's meddled enough. I was apparently his last clone attempt."

"Can we trust him, though?" Danny rubbed at his raw wrists, currently clad in a typical white Cadmus suit.

"Honestly, I think we can," Phantom-him said. "He was the most upset and regretful I've—*we've* ever seen him. Here, Vlad sent this is for you." Phantom-him produced another Red Robin suit from a backpack that had been thrown aside.

Danny hesitated to change when he realized Phantom-him wasn't turning around or anything. "Um…do you mind?"

"Dude, I'm _literally you._ Just change already."

Danny shrugged and stripped out of the Cadmus suit. "So, where are we?"

"A skyscraper in London's Banking District."

"London?!" Danny exclaimed, tripping slightly on one of the Robin uniform's legs. "Oh, come on! I didn't want my first trip abroad to be because of a freaking _kidnapping!_ "

"Weeeellllll too late now. Let's get cracking. I don't have much time." The duplicate placed a hand on Danny's shoulder blade and ushered him towards the door.

"Much time for what?"

"Until I destabilize."

Danny stopped. "Wait…what?"

The duplicate flinched and stopped without turning to face Danny. "Yeah, uh…that's something Vlad hadn't worked out yet. I don't- mmmh-" He winced and gripped his side. "I don't know how long I have, but my one and only purpose now is to make sure the real me gets out of here safely."

"But…but what about _you?"_

Phantom-him finally turned around and offered a small shrug. "I just found out there's a whole big _group_ of me's—er, well, *you's* in the world. I don't need to be here."

"But, dude…I thought I might have been a clone for a while there. And I would have still wanted to live my own life if I could."

"Eh, what can you do?" the clone repeated, though this time, his voice wavered slightly. "I'm not even supposed to be awake yet in the first place. And besides…I probably won't last until we find a way to stabilize me anyway."

"But…" Danny was at a loss for words, his heart slowly breaking as he faced the reality of _another_ loss. "But we _have_ a way…back in Amity Park…"

"It's fine," the clone insisted with a smile as a tear rolled down his glowing cheek. "C'mon, 'Red Robin,' let's get you out of here. Oh by the way, your brother's not dead."

Stunned, Danny double-took and realized his clone was leaving him behind. " 'Oh by the way'?! How is that an 'oh by the way' thing to say?!"

"You just seemed pretty sad; I thought you might like to hear it."

"So—?"

"The guy you saw die?" Phantom-him said. "He was a clone too. From Cadmus, though. The original Robin is somewhere else in this building, the Leadenhall, or that one over there-" he pointed out a window at a neighboring skyscraper under construction "-and we gotta find him. The protégé team is probably over there too."

"Wait, have I even met the real Robin?" Danny asked, doggedly following his duplicate through the halls. "And why don't we just phase through the walls to get out of here faster?"

"Who even knows if you have met him at this point? Vlad didn't tell me anything important, other than your location, and I'm working off of memories from when you first met Danielle. And, there are cameras everywhere; they'll see you're part ghost."

"Secrecy is pretty much out the window at this point, dont'ya think?"

"Well if *I* go through the wall, I _melt_ faster, so if you don't mind, I'll continue walking so I can still be here when the ghost stuff is actually useful, thank you."

* * *

_Slightly Earlier — 11:35, Wednesday, March 22 — London City Airport, London, UK_

An elegant businesswoman emerged from the terminal at London City Airport, no less professional in appearance than the slew of other business people pouring into the city centre-bound DLR train. She carried a nondescript, bulky messenger bag type of purse. A careful observer wouldn't even notice the tan line of an absent wedding ring, as it had been fastidiously disguised with makeup.

Maddie self-consciously smoothed her hair back despite it having already been tamed into a tidy bun. She checked her watch: 11:36, another 21 minutes estimated until the train would deliver her to Bank station. Maddie elected to sit, choosing a seat to face the nearest set of doors from a few rows' distance away.

After the train had departed, however, a motley group of teens tumbled into some seats just past the door. Maddie did her best not to bristle; they didn't appear to be anything too annoying or threatening—a lanky redhead with too much energy; an African boy wearing a scarf around his neck; a blonde with her long hair in a ponytail; a girl who vaguely reminded her of some television character she hadn't seen in years; a rough-and-tumble, black-haired boy, likely a current or future rugby player based on his build; and a black-haired girl wearing what resembled a Catholic preparatory school uniform.

It wasn't until much later into the journey when Maddie began to place the redheaded boy's face. She side-eyed him, trying to study his features until she could remember precisely where she had seen him before. He soon produced a short smile in response to a joke one of the other teens had made.

' _Of course!'_ Maddie had seen him at the DARE ball, sometime during the few moments she and Jack had been there to thwart the latest ghost attack. One of Danny's lookalike's friends…

He locked eyes with her.

Maddie immediately dipped her gaze as innocently as possible, smoothly transitioning it into a search for her bag's strap. She drew it over her head and stood, walking the opposite way to the next set of doors.

An announcement came over the train's intercom: _"This is: Bank. Please mind the gap between the train and the platform. Change here for the Circle, District, Northern and Waterloo & City lines, and the DLR. This train terminates here."_

—

Wally stumbled onto the platform and stood on his tip-toes to look above the crowd. But, it was to no avail. The rest of the undercover protégé team gathered behind him.

"Who was it you saw?" Aqualad asked, adjusting the scarf to better disguise his gills.

"I'm telling you, she looked exactly like Mrs. Fenton!" Wally insisted. "Great, last thing we need is a soccer mom getting in the way."

"Way to go, french fry," Artemis jabbed, poking Wally's side for emphasis. "You see where involving his friends gets you? Now yet _another_ civilian might be in danger."

"Well, we can't be sure it was her?" Zatanna suggested. "I heard somewhere that we have at least 7 people who look exactly like us in the world. I mean, look at Danny and Robin."

"Yeah, except they're actually related," Superboy answered.

"Well, there's nothing we can do now besides find that access tunnel Batman told us about," Megan said and rested a comforting hand on the speedster's shoulder. "C'mon, Wally, I'm sure she'll be alright if it _was_ her."

The team followed the crowds deeper into the station until they came across an unmarked door. Aqualad looked at a schematic on his phone and nodded to Zatanna. The magician whispered, "Eht rood si dekcolnu," while passing her hand over the knob. The door popped open, and the team slipped inside a dark corridor.

With another utterance of Zatanna, their disguises disappeared, and the protégé team was ready to infiltrate 22 Bishopsgate in stealth mode. They followed Aqualad through a maze of increasingly unfinished tunnels until they were deep underneath the Banking District.

"Alright, team, you all know the mission: locate Robin and Danny Fenton as quickly and discreetly as possible," Aqualad instructed. "We do not want a firefight, especially in a big metropolis like London which is not acclimated to supervillain violence. Miss Martian and Zatanna, I want you to start from the top of the tower and work your way down. Superboy, Artemis, you will follow a similar path starting from the top of the completed floors. Kid Flash, you stay with me from the subterranean levels, and we will work our way up."

The assembled team gave murmurs of agreement.

"Excellent. Miss Martian, now is the time."

"R-right," she agreed. Wringing her hands together, the Martian stepped forward and looked up. "Okay, everyone, step forward and grab hands."

Though they all did so, Kid Flash quipped, "What are we gonna do, sing Kumbaya?"

"I am still learning density shifting, and having a tactile connection makes it much easier to focus," M'gann answered, doing her best to ignore his snark.

Everyone grasped hands and silenced. M'gann closed her eyes, concentrating hard, and soon the entire group was levitating. They inched closer and closer until they started to pass through the concrete ceiling. It was an odd sensation for everyone except Kid Flash, who had already had this experience infiltrating Axion with Phantom. They slid through the earth in virtual silence, no one wanting to distract the Martian at such a critical point. Moments later, they passed through another layer of concrete and hovered inside a small, barren room still underground.

M'gann opened her eyes and let everyone drop to the floor. "I did it!" she cheered midair.

"Sh!" Artemis hissed. "Someone might hear-"

" _Did you hear that?"_ a voice said from outside the room.

Superboy rolled his eyes. "I thought we'd already gotten beyond this in our training."

* * *

_Present — 12:01 — 22 Bishopsgate_

"Excuse me, sir! Excuse me!"

The foreman looked up from the open construction document to find a tidy businesswoman waving to him from the gate. "Excuse me, gents," he said to the workers surrounding the document and walked to the gate. Her violet eyes captivated him as he approached. "May I help you, madam?"

The woman smiled warmly and answered, "Well, I certainly hope so. You see, I have an interview in a few minutes with LexCorp Farms' international office, and this was the address I found online. But…it doesn't appear to be correct?"

West London, based on her accent. Slightly posh but not unreachable.

The pair both looked up to the concrete shell of a structure towering above them. Only the lower floors had the glass cladding already in place.

"Well," the foreman began. He faltered when the mystery woman casually undid her bun and let her smooth auburn locks fall around her face. She raised her left hand to push some of the hair out of her eyes. _'No ring!'_ "I-I-uh, you see, nobody's moved in yet because we're still building, you see?" He cleared his throat. "I couldn't say for LexCorp specifically, but a lot of the companies have temporary offices over in the next tower." He gestured over his shoulder to another skyscraper visible around the corner. "There were a handful of offices to let until a few months ago. Perhaps you might find them there?"

At that moment her phone buzzed.

Jack: _[Phantom's signature just appeared on the Fenton Finder's radar without using the overboost. Live tracking him now to The Leadenhall Building, 122 Leadenhall Street, London. Sending you the location now…]_

Maddie returned her attention to the foreman. "Well, I'll dash over there immediately to see before I run out of time!" She let out a cheery laugh and extended a dainty hand to shake. "I will have to try to find some way to repay you for your kindness—?" she cooed and hesitated at the end with an unspoken question.

"Oh, B-Bill, ma'am," he stuttered.

"See you around, 'B-bill,' " she teased and slowly backed away. And with a final wave, she was gone.

The foreman stared absently for a moment before some snickering behind him broke his momentary paralysis. He glared at the chorus of mocking "B-bills" and ordered the other men to get back to work.

—

Maddie smiled victoriously to herself as she walked away. 'Bill' had been far too easy to use, especially with the fake accent she'd perfected years ago in training, and Jack's message had confirmed it. She entered the lobby of the Leadenhall Building and found a single-occupant restroom.

Maddie stripped the business suit and replaced it with the black tactical uniform inside her messenger bag. She distributed the array of ballistic and martial arts weaponry amongst the pockets adorning her person, shoved the business suit inside the bag, put on the boots, and left the messenger bag shoved above one of the ceiling's drop tiles inside the bathroom. Moments later, Maddie was inside the HVAC system looking for a vent which opened past the building's security.

* * *

_12:05 — Bishopsgate_

Something was off when Robin awoke. He was inside some sort of containment which didn't feel…right. This glass cylinder wasn't imprisoning him, per se; rather, it was more to sustain him. The last thing he could remember was having a stack of boxes topple over onto him in Axion Labs' basement, and now he found himself captive in some barren storage room. Something just wasn't…

…right.

"Billy?"

Robin's eyes—still masked, though the rest of his uniform was missing and replaced with one of Cadmus' typical white suits—snapped up to the source of the voice.

"L-Lex Luthor?" he croaked. "Who's Billy?"

"No, Billy, it's me, Amorpho!" Lex answered. Robin spasmed as Luthor's body twisted unnaturally until it was a featureless grey blob with red glasses, black trench coat and fedora. "I promise I tried to stay away like you asked, but it's your own fault for finding me!"

Robin hesitated before reiterating, "Who's Billy?!"

Realization somehow managed to dawn on the floating blob's—well, where its face _would_ be. "Oooohhhh you must be the other one I saw running around. My name is Amorpho, and I'm a ghost who can shapeshift into anyone I like!" As if to prove his point, he morphed again to be a spitting image of Robin in his current white uniform. "See?"

"Great. Who's Billy?"

"Oh, you know, Billy. Billy Fenton."

"Oh, _Danny."_

"Him too, I suppose."

"Now Amorpho, are you here to rescue me?"

"Well, I'm really just here to cause chaos…"

"Nothing will cause more chaos than Lex Luthor finding his captive has been set free _by himself_ ," Robin suggested.

"Heeeyyyy, that's not a bad idea! I like the way you think, kid!" Amorpho said. He pressed the release button on the containment pod's control panel.

"Thanks, Amorpho," Robin said. He dabbed at a painful injury on his forehead. "Do you know who else is here?"

"Besides Luthor and those shmucks that follow him around, no. I only just arrived myself."

"Well, thank you," Robin repeated. He shook his duplicate's hand. "Do you think you can help me get out of here? I seem to be without my tools at the moment…"

"Sure!"

"Great. Let me just take care of this…" Robin approached the containment pod's control screen and opened its terminal.

_bin/rm -r -f* [Enter]_

"What did you do to it?" Amorpho asked from over Robin's shoulder.

"Activated the kill switch which will erase everything on their server," Robin answered smugly. "Same thing that almost erased Toy Story 2. Now let's get out of here."

Before they could move, however, the door opened to reveal Luthor's assistant, Mercy. She was saying into her phone, "-checking his containment status now, sir."

She froze in the doorway, momentarily taken aback by the two Robins.

"Good morning, my dear," Amorpho answered and transformed back into Luthor. "Do you know the quickest way out?"

Mercy glanced between 'Luthor' and the active phone call. After a moment's thought, she raised her bionic arm cannon.

"She's not a friend!" Robin shouted and pulled Amorpho to the ground. The blast from Mercy's prosthetic hand obliterated the pod's control panel instead.

"I noticed," Amorpho replied. He grabbed Robin's forearm, made them intangible and pulled Robin through the concrete to the level below.

Mercy immediately dialed Lex's personal line on her phone.

* * *

_12:05 — Leadenhall_

"So, what, we're just going to run through the halls for the rest of time?" Danny griped.

"I'm currently a big fan of not melting!" his clone replied. "Besides, I don't see you volunteering _your_ powers!"

"And broadcast to the biggest criminal network on the planet that Danny Fenton has ghost powers? No thank you!"

After turning yet another corner, the pair stumbled into the main reception area for LexCorp Farms' temporary offices. They stopped running and froze in the middle of the room as all the employees present stopped their discussions to stare. The standoff endured but a moment until the Phantom clone cleared his throat and chirped:

"Um…hi?"

It was no surprise that chaos erupted after a moment more of tense silence. LexCorp guards and Light goons materialized from nowhere, chasing the two boys back down the corridor from which they had come.

"How high up are we?" Danny asked.

"Like fifty floors, so jumping powerless out the window isn't an option."

"You can fly!"

"I can _melt!_ How many times do I have to say it to get through to you?!" the clone snapped, then he thought for a moment. "...Er, to me. _"_

The two ducked into a side door and barricaded it.

"You said you were saving your ghost powers to help us escape," Danny persisted. "I'm _pretty sure_ this qualifies as our escape!"

Multiple rifles cocking ceased their disagreement. The pair froze in place and slowly glanced over their shoulders. To their dismay, their choice of shelter had been the guards' armory.

"Well…this is bad," Danny muttered through clenched teeth. "Any bright ideas?"

The clone whimpered.

"O-okay," Danny shakily mumbled to himself. He raised his fists in a rather uncertain fighting stance and looked at the eager, malevolent goons around them. "Faaaaan- _tastic_."

It came out of nowhere.

A figure dressed entirely in black dropped from within the ceiling vents and wrapped its legs around the neck of one of the closer goons, pulling him to the ground. The newcomer let out a few feminine grunts as [apparently she] began artfully making her way through the Light's forces.

Danny and Phantom-him merely dropped their raised fists and gaped in amazement. A room of more than a dozen men, and this person blew through them like straw houses. The boys' deus ex machina stood catching her breath for a moment before she removed her cowl.

"Mom?!" Danny and the clone cried simultaneously.

Maddie turned to look at the two boys and focused on Phantom. Her battle-hardened expression melted. "Danny!" She ran to him and pulled the boy into a hug. "I'm so happy to see you!"

"Um…uh…what are you doing?"

"Don't play dumb with me after all the crap I went through to save you."

"I don't know what you're talking about, Mrs. Fenton," the duplicate replied with false heroic bravado.

"I _know_ it's _you_ , Danny Fenton," she said.

"What?!" He looked to Red Robin. "Since when?!"

"I dunno," the real Danny replied with a shrug.

"It wasn't that hard of a deduction when you quite literally disappeared from our doorstep. Plus…Jazz was very vocal."

"Well, I'm still not Danny," the clone repeated. " _That's_ Danny." He pointed to the boy dressed as Red Robin.

Maddie looked. She insisted, "No, that's Robin."

"No, that's _Red_ Robin, actually _your Danny_. I'm his clone. Hi!" he said with a wave.

"Clone?!" Maddie cried and stepped back in shock.

"He's not the only one," the real Danny added. "I'll introduce you to Dani-with-an-I later. But all of that begs the question: What the hell are you doing here, Mom?!"

"What do you think?" She casually shifted her weight onto one leg. "I'm here to rescue you."

"Rescue? Mom, the whole Justice League protégé team is on their way, and I'm not exactly defenseless! Plus there's a whole secret terrorist organization after me!"

"Oh, Danny, have more faith in me. I can handle the Light."

Danny hesitated. "Wait…how do you know they exist?"

"I need to tell you the truth, Danny. About what I *really* did before starting college."

"You—you joined the Peace Corps…"

"I joined… _*a*_ corps…"

" _Mom…_ " Danny began in a reprimanding tone.

"I was in the Marine Corps, Special Operations."

"The _Marine_ Corps?!" Danny squawked. "So *that's* how you're so killer at, like, everything!"

"I was top of the class in the Martial Arts Program," she said somewhat smugly. "I eventually became liaison to the Kingdom of Atlantis' special forces before I was honorably discharged."

Danny collapsed to sit on the nearest object; an unconscious goon, as it happened. He slumped his shoulders and stared ahead at nothing. Phantom-him mimicked his position on a bench.

"Come on, Dannys, is it really worth the theatrics?" Maddie demanded, fists on her hips. "Lots of people have been in the Marines and not been able to talk about what they did!"

The clone glanced up at her in bewilderment. "Uh, _yeah,_ but not all of them end up being just my mom. Well…*his.*" He jabbed a thumb over in Danny's direction.

" 'Just,' he says. I'm also a professional ghost hunter and doctorate-level scientist!" Maddie argued.

"Look, we don't have time to unpack all of that right now," Danny said, "so let's just set this discussion aside until we're relaxing on a tropical beach somewhere."

"Agreed," Maddie said. "We'll have to find an alternative way down. I suspect they'll be guarding the staircases."

"How did you get up here?"

"HVAC vents, though it'll take longer with three of us."

The trio heard some footsteps approaching and readied for a fight.

"Did Dad know?" Danny interjected.

"I told him last night when I was leaving for London," his mom answered.

Danny shook his head. "Well, great. My mom was a Marine Corps badass and not even *Dad* knew. Any _other_ deep, dark family secrets you're hiding?"

Maddie hesitated. "…About your Aunt Alicia…"

Danny looked at her in shock. "I was being sarcastic!"

* * *

_12:07 — Bishopsgate_

"There are likely dozens of Cadmus employees on the other side of that door," Aqualad mused. "Are you prepared for the resistance?"

The rest of his team all confirmed, keeping their uniforms' stealth modes active.

"Kid Flash: If you would not mind…"

Kid Flash nodded once and grabbed the door handle. He inhaled and exhaled one short breath before thrusting the door open and charging the first wave of guards. The rest of the team poured out of the closet and began their fight to escape.

A few minutes of sparring later, and Superboy picked up on a whispered voice somewhere nearby. He froze in place like a statue and stared literally through the crowd until his infrared vision locked onto an engineer hidden behind a wall.

" _Don't worry, sir, they're nowhere near the core yet,"_ he assured into a cell phone. He paused then continued, _"Just the second sublevel, Mr. Luthor."_

Superboy refocused on the fight at hand, realizing a single guard had been struggling to budge the Kryptonian at all into a headlock. Superboy forcefully pushed the man away with the back of his forearm and spoke on the team's mental link, _"I just heard a scientist talking about us being nowhere near a 'core.' It's probably worth checking out."_

" _Construction records indicate the first seven floors of the original tower's core were built before the project lapsed. Perhaps this is what he meant,"_ Aqualad said. _"Kid Flash, Artemis, please investigate."_

"You got it," Kid Flash agreed. He and Artemis split off from the fight and ran to the stairs.

* * *

_12:08 — Leadenhall_

"Witness" -grunt- "Protection" -kick- "Program?!" The last of the most recently arrived Cadmus employees dropped helplessly to the floor at Red Robin's feet.

"Her cover was blown! She and I look enough alike that she can pass as my sister, so that became her new alias. Why do you _think_ she lives in the middle of nowhere?!"

"I just thought she was a hick!"

"Danny!" Maddie reprimanded. "That's no way to speak about your aunt!"

"She's _not_ my _aunt!"_

Mother and sons all turned their heads when they heard stampeding in the corridor. "Later," the woman barked. "We've got more company."

Maddie parkour'd on top of a bookcase overlooking the entrance. The Phantom clone transformed back into 'Fenton' to stop glowing in the dark and be able to hide better. Danny, meanwhile, pressed up against the wall next to the door and crouched down. He touched his hand to the linoleum floor and sent a wave of frost creeping over its surface. The trap was set.

The first pair of LexCorp guards strode quickly into the room, quickly falling victim to the slick frozen surface. They careened into a desk and collapsed in a heap on the floor, just as a second pair repeated the mistake of the first. The third pair of LexCorp guards, however, caught on and entered much more cautiously.

That was when Maddie attacked. She leapt off the bookcase and tackled them both to the floor. One recovered, however, and began grappling with her. She sent punch after punch, kick after kick, but this guard seemed to be more capable than the rest. He blocked and returned her strikes until Maddie found a moment to unsheathe a knife and slash his quad. With an animalistic roar, he dropped to the floor.

The other guard, unfortunately, had recovered and kicked the knife out of Maddie's hand. He aimed his weapon, but Maddie dropped to the floor out of the path of its barrel and charged forward into the man's knees.

Meanwhile, another guard had found Danny's clone. "Hands up!" the guard—a woman, apparently—barked. The clone raised his hands in fear and shakily rose to his feet. "What are you doing here, kid?"

"J-j-just doing some sightseeing," he answered, then tripped forward. "Whoa!" the clone shouted, feigning clumsiness. Instead, he gripped the barrel of her assault rifle and melted it with an ectoplasmic charge. Sporting a cocky grin, he added, "Oops," then transformed back into Phantom and intangibly charged her. He dragged her and another entering guard through to the next floor above them, tossed both employees against a column as hard as he could. He instantly collapsed, though, when he was overcome with pain. He doubled over and gripped his stomach, looking on in horror as his melting forearm recovered.

Meanwhile, just after Maddie had disabled the first guard, Danny found a pair of collapsed eskrima sticks inside the replica Red Robin uniform; Vlad had apparently thought of everything when he'd produced it for Danny's use. Danny then held the sticks up defensively as he sped into the corridor and checked for other LexCorp guards, but the hallway was silent.

"UNGH!" Danny grunted as he was practically bulldozed forwards. He called on some of his flight powers to hover as he somersaulted forward and launched his aggressor into a pile of storage bins. Danny dropped back to the floor, as if it had merely been a moment of acrobatics.

Behind Danny, another troop of guards approached, this time in all-black, unmarked livery. Danny leapt into the air and over their heads, using his rotational momentum to strike outwardly between the first two goons and send them hurdling into opposite walls. He landed amongst the remaining four and realized he was suddenly outmatched.

"…'Afternoon, fellas."

All four converged on him at once, so Danny dropped to the floor, allowing them to merely run into each other. It was then the boy noticed a labeled button on the handle of each eskrima stick with which Vlad had equipped him: _'STINGER'_

"Huh."

With a cocky smile, he pressed the buttons on both sticks and watched as they charged with ecto-electicity. He raised and extended them up above himself from his crouched position, and each tip prodded and shocked a different guard. The four goons cried in momentary agony before falling to the ground, unconscious.

Danny collapsed and holstered the eskrima sticks and turned to face the goon who had attacked him from behind. The man was shakily rising out of the pile of bins.

"You!" Danny barked.

The goon looked up in terror and scrambled to untangle himself. Danny, however, stormed over and grabbed the man by his lapels. Danny thrust him against a pillar a couple times before dragging his limp form back into the room where his mother still fought two guards simultaneously.

"I got it!" Danny shouted and threw his original aggressor into one of the two guards attacking Maddie. The remaining guard used the distraction to grab Maddie from behind and throw her against the window. The glass hummed in protest but remained intact. The guard, though, drew his rifle and shot the glass in three places next to Maddie, missing the woman entirely.

But, the man's weapon jammed, preventing any further attempt of shooting her. He thus ran forward, and Maddie, who had drawn her forearms to shield her head and upper torso, was unprepared when the guard then front-kicked Maddie into the window once more, completely shattering the glass and sending her careening out of the skyscraper.

All Danny could think to do as he watched yet another of his loved ones face certain doom was to cry out a single word:

"Mom!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, yes, I know, another cliffhanger. BUT, this chapter is already 6500+ words AND I haven't finished drafting the second half of this fight, so it would be astronomically long and unacceptably late in publishing if I included all of this climactic battle in one chapter.
> 
> Did I throw you off by having Amorpho show up before revealing it was another clone that woke Danny? :p
> 
> Easter eggs this time around:
> 
> \- A paraphrasing of brilliant comedian John Mulaney (Danny saying "We don't have time to unpack all of that...")
> 
> \- Experiment 37 is a reference to a line in a song from Hoodwinked. "37 years ago, a witch done put a spell on [a goat who is helping Little Red Riding Hood]." The creative team specifically said a random number like 37 because a rounded number like 15 just wasn't funny enough.
> 
> \- The Toy Story 2 kill switch line of code is a true story, if you're not a Disney nerd who knows all of this already. Pixar lost almost the entire movie when this line of code was inputted into the server. Fortunately, one of the animators had taken a copy of most of the files to work from home, so she saved the movie.
> 
> \- 22 Bishopsgate is a real skyscraper, and it really did have 7 stories of the original structural core built before the initial project went bankrupt. A new design was built on the same site, integrating that original core. I believe it has finished construction now or is very nearly finished, but the tower was nowhere near complete when this story takes place.
> 
> \- You will notice I typed "7 storeys" in the dialogue of the foreman scene and then "7 stories" in the note just above this. That is because the guy talking was British so I gave him the British spelling just for giggles and then wrote it the other way just now because I am, in fact, an American. Also worth noting that the foreman says "offices to let" which is British speak for to rent. I would normally never say this, but the character is British, so there you go.
> 
> Sh*t's gettin' real next chapter. Like you have no idea. Super fighty-actiony.
> 
> I love you guys and all your feedback and constructive criticism! Stay classy, AO3.
> 
> Chapter 16 publishing delayed until early November due to masters thesis workload. But hang in there, it’s in development and coming as soon as possible!


	16. The Penny Drop

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back!
> 
> Well, I was never really gone, just preoccupied and in need of proper inspiration. You have no idea how happy I am to click the "Post New Chapter" link. My masters degree finishes next month, and I have been running around for weeks with little sleep (I totaled 12 hours one week.) and virtually no time or mental energy to dedicate to overhauling the skeleton I had for chapter 16.
> 
> It also didn't help that most of my sudden inspirations were for scenes following this chapter.
> 
> But anyway, it's here, it's awesome, and it's ready for you to continue your literary adventure.
> 
> A MASSIVE thank you to my betas for helping me work through this chapter!
> 
> \----------
> 
> UPDATE SATURDAY, NOV. 30: A reader requested a refresh on who's who, so I'll put it here for everyone's reference:
> 
> \- Real Robin: actually brother James, captured and put in stasis in chapter 6 while searching the Axion archives; awoken in chapter 15 by Amorpho  
> \- Robin clone: introduced in chapter 6. All action in Gotham and Kansas (infiltration of the LexCorp Farms facility), executed by the Light.  
> \- Real Daniel: buried as James Grayson, dead at birth (or soon after)  
> \- Real Danny: actually Richard, present throughout the story and captured in Kansas; awoken in chapter 15 by a clone. Temporarily in possession of the designation 'Red Robin.'  
> \- Clone Danny/Experiment 37: activated and sent to London to save Danny. Awoke Danny in chapter 15

Thinking fast as she fell out the window, Maddie drew and shot a grappling gun, wrapping it around the man's leg as she fell. The sudden force whipped the goon's legs out from underneath him and dragged him across the floor. He ditched his gun and desperately grabbed the side of the window frame, but he instantly lost his grip and sent the pair tumbling down the slanted glass face of the cheese grater-shaped skyscraper.

Danny panicked. He had seen enough of his loved ones die temporarily; the boy couldn't bear the thought of the first permanent one. Abandoning all precautions about maintaining his secret identity as Phantom, he transformed and ran for the window. Danny paused at the shock of his activating ghost sense.

A black-and-white blur.

Maddie and her aggressor had already plummeted several stories and showed no signs of slowing by the time Danny recovered. The grappling gun's wire wrapped the two adults into a struggling bundle. They repeatedly bounced off the steeply raked glass surface and dropped floors at a time while the blur raced after them. That hairstyle, that hazmat suit, that laser focus: he would recognize it anywhere.

 _Dani_ Phantom finally grabbed onto Maddie's arm within the confines of the tangled wire. She made the woman intangible and released her from the grappling gun's captivity. The guard, meanwhile, remained tangled as he plummeted. However, as Dani and Maddie watched on from midair, the hook caught the lip of one of the breaks in the façade and left the guard hanging helplessly a few stories up from the ground.

Maddie looked at her rescuer. "You!"

"Hey, Mrs. F.," Dani said and began flying them back up to Danny. "Long time no see, amiright?"

"Not since Tuesday. Who-who _are_ you?"

"I did kind of ditch you guys back in Amity…" Dani landed inside and released Maddie from her grasp.

Maddie, in turn, stepped back and compared the two Phantoms, both of whom looked somewhat sheepish. Her eyes then fell on Experiment 37 before looking back to the real Danny. "Is she-?"

"Experiment 35," the other clone answered. With a touch of reverence he added, "The one that got away."

"Who is making all these clones of my son?!"

"Eh...let's hash that out later," Danny said and returned to the window to check on the abandoned goon. "Do you think we oughta help her? It's not really her fault she got *tangled up* in this mess."

"Now really isn't the time," Maddie chastised, joining him at the edge.

"You're right. She was too *high-strung* and could use some time to just *hang out,*" Dani added.

Maddie scoffed. She reached out and picked at Danny's uniform. "Incredible," she mused.

"Fenton original," Phantom commented. "It was, uh…you know. I wore this when…*it* happened. Great health and safety protocol requiring us to wear these hazmat suits, by the way. Really saved me," he quipped.

Experiment 37, meanwhile, had busied himself with tying up the unconscious LexCorp guards and Light goons. He finished a knot with a particularly aggressive tug and thrust the unconscious man back to the floor on his face. The Phantom clone crossed his arms and stared out the glass at something in the distance. "Well, I, uh…good." He cleared his throat. "So now what? Are we just going to wait for more goons to find us, or are we gonna get out of here?"

"We need to find the real Robin," the original Phantom insisted. "He could be somewhere in this building, so I think we should split up and find him."

"That could take hours," the clone complained.

"Well, it's our only choice right now!"

"Danny," Maddie interrupted.

Both Dannys and Dani turned to her and snapped, "What?"

She hesitated. "Well, this is going to be complicated…"

The Dannys glanced at each other for a moment before the male clone said, "Look, just call me 37. It's my actual designation anyway."

"Your designation?"

"…Experiment…37," Phantom explained haltingly.

Maddie's face drew into a fleetingly saddened frown before returning attention to her actual not-son. "Well, _*Phantom,*_ you're a ghost. Can't you make stuff invisible and find him that way?"

"Well…yeah, but I would have to know what part to focus on. Otherwise I'd just be making the whole _skyscraper_ invisible."

"Wait…I have a brilliant beyond brilliant idea," Dani butted in. "Just focus on making the building and its stuff invisible and not the people, and then 37 and I can fly around and try to find Robin!"

"Oh, yeah, like an entire freaking skyscraper suddenly disappearing won't cause us MORE trouble!" Danny snapped. "How do you think the people in and around it are gonna react to that? Then not just the Light but the entire freaking British military will descend upon us!"

"As if! We'll be quick!" 37 insisted, transforming back into Phantom-him.

Danny squinted. "I know you, because you're me, and I know I'm full of shit, so what does that make you?"

"Danny, I don't care where we are: watch your language!" Maddie snapped.

"Sorry," he grumbled. "But it's not like I've ever made anything bigger than the emergency ops center invisible, and that was the whole thing at once, and it totally wiped me out!"

"When did this happen?" the woman asked.

"One of the alternate timelines." Danny thought for a moment. "I'll explain some of those to you someday."

"Come on, Danny," 'Phantom' insisted. "I know you know I'm you, but that also means you know I know you, and there's a part of you that will think this is crazy enough that it just might work!"

Phantom and his mother shared a look.

"Well, we are pressed for time, and they already know we're here," Dani said.

"They do raise a good point, sweetie," Maddie conceded. "We've lost the element of stealth already anyway."

Phantom sighed and rolled his eyes. "Well, if even 007 agrees…" He rubbed his hands together, walked to a pillar and laid his hands flat on its surface. Phantom closed his eyes and concentrated for a few moments. Slowly, his powers oozed along the surface, making it invisible. The affected area expanded rapidly across the floor and ceiling until the whole office had become completely transparent, revealing the offices and their inhabitants above and below. His powers crawled across the glass façade of the building, chasing up and down the superstructure of the building until the entire tower was invisible.

As Phantom began to shudder under the strain, his clones leapt to work looking throughout the levels of offices. Workers stood from their invisible chairs and marveled at suddenly being visually exposed to the outside. Whispers grew into murmurs, murmurs grew into hubbub, hubbub grew into panic as London realized an entire skyscraper was missing.

* * *

_Meanwhile, in Bishopsgate..._

" _Aqualad, we are in position and ready to start searching,"_ M'gann said over their link. She and Zatanna landed on top of the central structural core protruding several stories above the finished concrete decking.

" _Excellent,"_ the boy responded. _"We will begin our search as well. It appears the Light's guards have momentarily backed off. Do you see any signs of Robin or otherwise suspicious activity?"_

" _Well,"_ Zatanna began, staring over Miss Martian's camouflaged shoulder, _"*that's* something…"_

M'gann turned to look at what the girl was seeing.

" _What do you see?"_ asked Aqualad.

" _Nothing; that's the point,"_ Zatanna said. _"Leadenhall Building has...disappeared."_

" _But not the people and stuff inside it,"_ Miss Martian added. _"They're just floating there!"_

" _Superboy, you at a window?"_ Kid Flash interjected.

" _Yeah?"_

" _Check infrared,"_ the speedster said.

There was a momentary pause, and then: _"The skyscraper is still there; it's just invisible."_

" _Ghosts! It's Danny!"_ Kid Flash cheered mentally.

" _Miss Martian, attempt to link up Danny to see if he really is causing this,"_ Aqualad ordered.

" _On it."_

* * *

Maddie darted her attention to the street below at the sound of crunching metal. Multiple cars had crashed into each other. Their drivers got out, oblivious to the wreckage, staring at the missing skyscraper and apparently-hovering office workers. "Um…Danny? Might want to hurry this up a bit…" she said.

"I…can't…help it," Phantom grunted.

" _Danny! Is that you?"_ a voice suddenly shouted in his head.

The voice jarred Danny from his concentration. He released a loud groan and let go of the pillar, dropping his transformation and collapsing as Red Robin. The building quickly shifted back into the visible spectrum, returning everything back to normal.

"What the heck-?" he began out loud, then realized. Mentally he responded, _"Miss Martian?!"_

" _Danny! Thank goodness you're alright!"_ M'gann said. _"What are you doing in Leadenhall?"_

" _I dunno; I woke up here. Is Robin with you?"_

" _No. I'm guessing you haven't found him either?"_

" _No,"_ Miss Martian said. _"We've just started searching, though."_

" _Oh. Us, too."_

" _Who's 'us?' "_

37 suddenly re-entered. "Nothing!" he announced then lost his equilibrium and stumbled into a pillar. He pressed his back flat against it and slid to the floor. Danny and Maddie rushed to his sides just as Dani returned from searching also.

"Are you alright?" Danny asked.

"Woo, that was a lot of flying," 37 answered.

"What does that have to do-?" Maddie began.

"He's not stable," Dani explained. "He needs some Ecto Dejecto, stat. Did you bring any, Mrs. F?"

"No. I'm sorry; I had no reason to…"

"My leg feels weird," 37 commented, and all four looked down. He started to bend his right knee, but only the front half truly bent. The rest of it was beginning to disintegrate and melt onto the floor in puddles of ectoplasm. "Hnnnnh?!" he whined and dropped the knee. He scrambled to back away from his own leg, though the pillar kept him from moving anywhere. His eyes laser-focused onto the appendage, and his breaths shortened and quickened. "Too soon *wheeze* too soon *wheeze* too soon *wheeze*-"

"What's-?" Danny began.

"He's going into shock. Or a panic attack," Maddie said. "We need to talk him down now before it gets out of control and his physical condition worsens."

Danny turned to 'Danny.' "Hey, hey, man, come on, look at me. You're still here, you're still alive, everything will be okay, okay? Danny?"

"Hey, hey dude, focus on your core," Dani suggested. "That always helped me before I got stabilized."

Maddie nodded in agreement. "That's right; it regulates your ghost form. Get it under control, and it can get your leg under control. But I really need you to try hard for me, okay, hun? Try for me, try for us."

The clone, swivel-eyed, managed a nod and closed his eyes and mouth. He forced himself to breathe in through his nose. Danny and Maddie each held a hand and watched the leg re-integrate after a few extremely tense moments. As soon as he was whole again, 'Phantom' slumped and de-transformed into 'Danny,' this one also dressed in a Robin uniform. The other three let out deep breaths in relief and sat back. The panic was gone, though the duplicate's hands still shook rather violently.

Maddie sighed and extended her arms. "Come here."

The clone turned his head, confusion evident. "W-what?"

"In a way," the woman explained, "you're my Danny too. And I know when my Danny needs a hug."

Speechless, the duplicate dropped his arms to his sides and appraised Maddie. There was no sign of a joke or a threat, so he shuffled across the space to her waiting arms. Just as with the real Danny, Maddie wrapped him in a hug.

37 released a deep sigh of contentment. "Th-thanks, Mom. U-uh…Maddie."

"Mom will do for now."

The duplicate smiled, eventually dropping his arms as a signal that the hug had done its job.

" _Danny? Is everything okay?"_ M'gann prompted via their mental connection.

" _Small unrelated crisis here, but we're okay. Robin's definitely not in Leadenhall,"_ Danny told Miss Martian. _"Where are you guys?"_

" _22 Bishopsgate. Across the block from you and under construction."_

"Bishopsgate," Danny said out loud. He led Maddie, Dani and 37 to the windows. Danny pointed and said, "The protégés are over there."

The neighboring tower was only partially complete. Only the first twenty-odd floors were finished and fully glazed. Another twenty stories rose above the glassline with only the metal frame and concrete floor pads complete. Finally, above that protruded the concrete core which had risen another 15 floors or so with new concrete being poured by the day.

From their vantage point high above the incomplete tower, the quadruplet of Fenton variants saw hordes of black-uniformed soldiers marching around the exposed upper floors and forming a perimeter around the edge. Something had sent Bishopsgate into chaos as well.

Maddie nodded. "Let's go."

" _We're coming to you,"_ Danny informed M'gann.

* * *

"With my own two eyes, sir," Mercy affirmed.

"And this imposter resembles…me?" Luthor asked.

"He transformed from Robin into a duplicate of you while I was standing there," Mercy said. "I imagine this new player must have shapeshifting capabilities."

"That could complicate things."

"It is being dealt with, sir. All team leaders on site have been instructed to hold anyone acting out of character in immediate suspicion."

"And the other protégés?"

"They are within the building. Squads throughout the tower have been reporting sightings of all the primary protégé team members."

"All of them?"

"Quite."

Luthor hummed in response to Mercy's report. "Mobilize all London teams to converge on the building, and have the Light supersonic craft on standby in camouflage mode."

"Already done, Mr. Luthor." Mercy's arm beeped, so she checked the alert. The woman hesitated a moment. "Um...sir?"

"Come now, Mercy, you know I don't appreciate a lack of self-confidence in my second-in-command."

"We may have a...complication," she said.

Mercy aimed her arm at the bank of computers in their makeshift office and transferred a webpage wirelessly. A live GBN News report began playing.

" _-truly spectacular circumstances,"_ the anchor was saying. _"GBN already had a reporter on site for an unrelated developing story when the calls began to pour in to our offices. We now go to Cat Grant's Instagram livestream from moments ago to find out what's happening."_

The video feed switched to what was obviously a cell phone's front-facing camera. Cat Grant seemed to be standing outside. _"I'm coming to you live from what used to be the 50th floor of the Leadenhall Building here in London's Banking District. I was discussing Qurac development plans with representatives from LexCorp Farms' London branch when the office was suddenly inundated with natural light. It became immediately apparent that the building itself had disappeared from view, though there was no change in temperature or ambient noise._

" _You can still feel the walls and doors of the building,"_ she continued, adjusting the camera view such that the viewers could see she was banging her fist against something and producing a noise. _"This is absolutely unbelievable and quite unsettling to experience in person. I've never seen—or should I say, never *not* seen—anything like it."_

The video playback paused. Luthor wheeled on Mercy. "Is it really so much to ask that my employees perform as requested?"

"We do not know for sure that he's loose," Mercy offered. "It could be something else at play. Some other ghost perhaps."

"Please, there was so much ectoplasmic radiation coming off that boy when we froze him, I'm surprised he doesn't glow in the dark. He most certainly has powers." Luthor strode over to a bank of charging walkie-talkies and took one. "Leadenhall teams: report!" Lex barked. After no response, he repeated, "All Leadenhall posts report, now!"

After a short pause, a feeble response finally came. _"There's...two of them, sir, plus a woman,"_ a man rasped. _"All...armed, all...dangerous."_

"They're teenagers!" Luthor snapped and threw the walkie talkie against the wall, shattering it instantly. While Mercy produced a spare radio from a charging station, Luthor said, "How could there be two over there? The true Robin is here. You saw him seconds ago."

"I do not know, Mr. Luthor."

"No. You wouldn't. Contact all team leaders. Use of the more expensive ecto-weaponry is now authorized. Shoot-to-harm, not shoot-to-kill. I want to salvage what I can from that failed operation."

"And Operation Fallback?"

Luthor paused to think for a moment. "Accelerate the timeline. We need him in our custody before we leave Bishopsgate."

"Sending in the distractions now, sir," Mercy confirmed.

* * *

Kid Flash scoffed after another closed door proved to be hiding nothing. "Come on! Are we never going to find him?"

Artemis continued past him down the unfinished corridor. "We're only on the 4th level of the original structural core. There's still 3 more to go and then the entire rest of the tower to search." She approached another room and went inside, Kid Flash hot on her heels. Apart from some scattered empty packaging, the room showed no signs of having ever been inhabited.

"Oh, wow, what a surprise: empty," Kid Flash cheered sarcastically.

Artemis scoffed. "It's not like we can expect Robin to simply appear out of nowher-"

"It's KF and Artemis! We're safe!" an invisible voice whispered. Two people suddenly appeared in the doorway.

"Robin?!" Kid Flash exclaimed and tackled his friend into a hug. "Is it the real you this time?"

"I hope so!"

Artemis, meanwhile, recognized the other person. "Luthor!" she snapped and drew her bow.

"Wait! Don't attack! I'm Amorpho!" Lex Luthor exclaimed and raised his hands. He shape-shifted into a featureless ghost form. "I'm a shapeshifting ghost!"

"It's true," Robin assured. "He let me out of the pod. Apparently, he knows the Fenton kid."

" 'The Fenton kid?' " Kid Flash parroted. "Haven't you guys kind of moved passed that yet?"

"What are you talking about? I still haven't cleared him. Oh, don't let me forget I still need to return his wallet."

Artemis and the speedster shared a meaningful look. Robin still didn't know about the clone which had replaced him.

Before too long, Amorpho couldn't take the mounting silence anymore and tried making conversation. "If it helps you guys, I can change into anyone I like." He morphed into Robin once more. "See? We're practically iden-"

Four more figures suddenly appeared.

Robin gasped. "What the hell?"

* * *

_BRRRP BRRRP BRRRP BRRRP BRRRP-_

"What is it now?" Luthor shouted over the alarm.

"The perimeter defenses registered an ecto-entity entering the premises," Mercy said. She typed on the computer and silenced the deafening alarm. "A ghost has just arrived in Bishopsgate."

"Fenton," Luthor murmured. "Or someone helping him. Mercy, activate the shield."

"Sir, the police and military have both already been mobilized to Leadenhall. It would not be wise to draw attention to-"

"Is it invisible or not?"

"A few seconds after stabilization, yes," Mercy conceded.

"Then do it. We can't have Fenton helping him escape. Lock the building down."

"Very well, Mr. Luthor."

* * *

"Hey, everybody," Danny greeted. "Robin! Thank god you're okay!"

There standing in the middle of the room was 'Red Robin,' _another_ Robin, Dani Phantom and Mrs. Fenton.

Kid Flash's eyes fell on Dani. "Great, now we have to deal with this genderbend crap too?" he exclaimed. Dani rolled her eyes.

"Who are you?!" Robin demanded of Red Robin.

"Don't tell me you've already forgotten taking selfies in Detroit?" Danny replied.

"Wait, Fenton?!" Robin blurted.

"Yeah?" Red Robin said.

"What the hell?! But you're—the cave—that's my uniform!"

Danny looked down. "Well, yes and no. This is a replacement for the spare you gave me."

"Why would I give you my uniform?" Robin demanded.

"Um, because you're a decent human being, and your motorcycle gear was soaking wet, so I was going to die of pneumonia if you didn't?"

"God, you really _must_ be a clone if you're trying to _take over my life!"_

"Hey, chill, man, you've got this all wrong!" Danny insisted.

"Uh, Rob?" Kid Flash said. "He's kind of got a point."

"No, this is insanity!" Robin insisted. "You all let a freaking civilian start to take my place without so much as a thought as to why he's here!"

"They let me in because I'm your brother!" Danny snapped.

Everyone fell silent.

Danny nervously avoided eye contact with Robin. "I'm actually James Grayson. I saw the past, and I got switched at birth with the real Danny. He's dead and buried as your brother."

Robin calmed. "Oh."

"Actually, it's not that simple," Dani piped up. All eyes fell on her, so she continued. "Clockwork—er, the ghost of time sent me back to switch you guys to save your lives. What he didn't tell me was that there was _another_ person from that time who was also going to switch you. I switched the real Danny and James. But then, Fruitloop of the Year came along and switched James with the _other_ twin."

"Wait," Danny said, then repeated, "WAIT. But that would mean-?"

"You're Richard," Dani answered. She nodded at Robin and added, "And he's James."

The boys' jaws dropped in unison as they stared at each other. "Oh my god," they chorused.

"Oh my god!" Maddie parroted and glared at Dani. "You switched my baby?!"

"Hey, you should be thankful! You wouldn't have a son at all if it weren't for me!" Dani sassed.

"How could you?! How can you live with yourself?!"

"I dunno!" Dani snapped. "I look forward to _hopefully_ finding out someday after intensive therapy with your daughter!"

"So, you already know who I am?" Robin asked his team.

"Other you told us," Kid Flash confirmed with a solemn nod.

"Well, this day is going to shit."

"Come on, man," Danny said, "we've both escaped the Light's stupid pods, our friends and family are here to help us, and now we both know what's going on."

"No we don't! Why was everybody switching us at birth? Why did you still get past the zeta tube security if you're supposedly not a clone? And why does everyone miraculously trust you?"

"Let's just get out of here and figure that out later!"

"What are you trying to hide, _Richard?"_

Danny glared. "I'm not hiding anything, _James!_ I'm looking for answers too. But damn it, we're not going to get any answers in some random storage closet at a construction site on the other side of the freaking globe with half the Royal Air Force probably descending on our asses!"

"But-"

"We're superheroes. We _deal,"_ Danny asserted, and Robin calmed for a moment. "You told me that earlier this week. Well…*other you.*

" 'Other me?' " Robin asked.

Danny sighed. "Lex Luthor replaced you last Saturday at Axion with a clone. An—well, a _debatable_ ally convinced them that your secret ID was Danny Fenton to throw them off the scent. When I ran away to Gotham because I found out I wasn't a Fenton—and Dad low key tried to kill me—"

"He's sorry about that," Maddie inserted.

Danny rolled his eyes and waved her off. "When I ran away, Luthor thought I was a clone gone rogue and they came after me. You, uh...he died," Danny said with a shuddering breath. "So you don't have to worry about any more confusion with him."

"He's—I'm…"

"I watched you die, man," Danny said. "My only connection to the past, my only real family, just—gone. Dead. Shot in the head like an execution."

"Oh." Robin shifted on his feet. "Well."

"So, please, pull yourself together and stay calm just until we can get out of here, and then we'll figure everything out."

Robin breathed for a moment then nodded. "Alright. Let's ditch this place. So...you wanna explain who these guys are?" He gestured at Maddie, Dani and 37.

"Well, you know my mom already from the ball last Friday, and from when you freaking broke into my room."

Maddie gasped and whispered, "That _was_ you…"

"This guy-" Danny jabbed a thumb in 37's direction "comes courtesy of our favorite resident fruitloop. And, actually, so does Dani."

"With an 'I,'" the girl added with crossed arms and a cocked hip.

Danny, the de-transformed clone, Robin himself, Dani, and the Robin-mimicking Amorpho all gathered in the center of the room and appraised each other.

Just then, Aqualad and Superboy came into the safe room. They both paused as soon as they'd entered, though, when all of the Robin's and Dani turned in unison to stare at the newcomers.

"Um…" Superboy began. "...I feel like I missed something."

Danny stepped forward from the group of duplicates. "I'm Danny. That one's the real Robin. That other one is a shapeshifting ghost called Amorpho, this is my duplicate we're just calling 37 to keep things simple, and that's Dani, a girl me," he explained, pointing to each one in turn.

Superboy turned to the true Robin with an unspoken question.

Robin shrugged and shook his head. "Later."

"Well, *this* won't get confusing," Kid Flash quipped. "Now that everyone's free, we should get out of here ASAP before this gets any more complicated."

The sound of a distant, powerful generator starting interrupted the conversation. Danny, Dani and 37 each sensed an odd shift in the atmosphere. "Did you guys feel that?" Danny asked.

" _Um, guys?"_ Miss Martian called over the link.

" _Miss M, please link up Robin, Red Robin, Dani, experiment 37, Amorpho and Dr. Fenton, and then you and Zatanna should come find the rest of us on level three of the core. Sending you a mental image of them now,"_ Aqualad requested. He said out loud, "Dr. Fenton, you are about to hear a voice in your head. Our team typically communicates telepathically to avoid detection."

"I'm familiar," she said.

"You are?!" Danny asked. He huffed and crossed his arms. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised at this point."

Before the woman could explain further, Miss Martian connected them and continued, _"Welcome back, you guys! And hello, Dr. Fenton and...others. Aqualad: Zatanna and I just saw a transparent green dome appear around the building before disappearing. We are unsure what it is."_

" _Sounds like a ghost shield,"_ Maddie said. _"A sophisticated one, too. Not all of them can operate invisibly. We must have tripped some sensors when Dani flew us in."_

" _So, no getting in or out in ghost mode,"_ Dani added.

" _And no getting out *at all* for Amorpho,"_ Danny said and turned to Aqualad. _"How did you guys get in? Air? Ground level?"_

" _Miss Martian used density shifting to get us in via a network of subterranean tunnels,"_ the Atlantian replied.

" _Can't we just get out that way again?"_

" _That means we're abandoning Amorpho to the clutches of the Light,"_ Robin said, _"and it's a sucky return for letting me out of that pod."_

" _Oh, I'm sure I could have some fun with them,"_ the ghost chuckled and rubbed his hands together.

" _You might have some fun at the start, but Lex Luthor is smart,"_ Danny said. _"He would figure you out pretty quickly and then you'd be ghost toast."_

" _We have to disable the ghost shield, then,"_ Aqualad deduced. _"We will need to formulate an escape plan for when that has been accomplished."_

" _Can't we just run out the front door?"_ Danny said. _"Beat up a few guards and we're home free. The world loves you guys."_

" _Not unless you want to be an enemy of the United Nations,"_ Artemis said.

" _She is correct,"_ Aqualad agreed. _"This rescue mission came from League authority, but we did not seek UN sanctioning due to their ties to LexCorp. Any sighting of the protégé team at a site of conflict would create an international incident."_

" _We wouldn't be in this mess if you guys even knew what the word 'stealth' meant,"_ Danny griped. _"Now we have to disable a ghost shield and distract a hundred guards just so we can sneak away."_

" _We're not the ones who turned an entire *skyscraper* invisible!"_ Miss Martian retorted. _"So don't lecture us about stealth!"_

" _Hey, it wasn't *my* idea!"_ Danny said.

" _Yeah, it was mine, which means in a way it was kind of yours,"_ Dani jabbed.

" _We were trying to find *your* teammate!"_ Danny defended. _"And what about the hundreds of construction workers that have already seen or will see you here?"_

" _With our stealth gear enabled, we are less instantly recognizable,"_ Aqualad said. _"They will be able to say that someone was here, but they will not be aware of who."_

" _So we just disable the ghost shield, escape in groups by ghost power or density shifting and then meet up later,"_ Robin said. _"Easy-peasy."_

" _However, Lex Luthor is one of our most clever adversaries,"_ Aqualad said. _"Based on the fact that our team was first ID'd on the subterranean levels of this construction site, he will have deduced we came from underground and ordered multiple ambushes to be set up in those tunnels."_

" _So not ground and not underground,"_ Maddie said. _"We fly out then?"_

" _No; again, we'll be ID'd and get in trouble with the UN,"_ Kid Flash grumbled.

" _What about the bioship?"_ Superboy spoke up. _"Miss Martian can go get it while we work on getting the ghost shield and any other aerial defenses turned off. Fly in using camo mode, we all get in, then we fly away unseen by anyone that matters."_

" _Miss Martian's camouflage, telekinesis and shapeshifting may still be useful,"_ Aqualad said. _"For whom else has the bioship been configured?"_

" _Zatanna was the designated copilot today."_

" _This could work,"_ Robin said. _"The military will be too distracted by the Leadenhall next door; we can essentially slip away completely unnoticed."_

" _All of this depends on us getting the ghost shield deactivated,"_ Maddie said. _"It'll probably be at the top of the tower. It has to have a 360-degree uninterrupted arc to sustain the energy field."_

Miss Martian and Zatanna arrived in the room. _"We were just there and saw nothing on the building which doesn't belong at a typical construction site,"_ the former said.

" _Other than a hundred armed goons, of course,"_ Zatanna quipped and took a look around the room. _"God, it's turning into Robins-R-Us in here!"_

" _On one of the cranes, then?"_ Artemis continued. _"Somebody who can fly should go check."_

" _I'll go,"_ Dani volunteered.

" _No, it will likely have anti-ghost defenses,"_ Maddie said. _"We need a non-ghost to go."_

" _So, Zatanna goes for the bioship, Miss Martian searches for the shield generator, the rest of us provide support and diversions,"_ Kid Flash summarized. _"Sounds like a plan, Kaldur."_

" _Oh, Kaldur'ahm!"_ Maddie suddenly exclaimed. All eyes fell on her. _"I knew you seemed familiar, but it's been so long since I've been to Atlantis that I couldn't place the face. But then, you are a spitting image of your father."_

Aqualad froze. _"You have been to Atlantis?_ " In a soft voice, he added, _"You—you know Calvin Durham?"_

" _Calvin?"_ Maddie asked with a chuckle. _"No, he's-"_

The door burst open before Maddie could elaborate, and a horde of soldiers of the Light poured in. "Everybody, hands in the air, _now!_ Do _not_ test me!"

The men's grips on their weapons faltered when they were suddenly faced with a legion of Robin's.

" _Hey, Lightning Legs,"_ Artemis said, hands in the air, _"I think that's your cue."_

" _I do believe it is,"_ Kid Flash answered with a grin. A second later, he was juggling all the men's automatic rifles in his arms.

* * *

_15:30 Local Time, Thursday, March 22 — Quraci Desert, Qurac_

"It is no trouble, Lex," Queen Bee assured in her sonorous voice. "With Psimon still catatonic, I would be happy to do what I can to enthrall our young heroes. All three of them."

She turned, cell phone to her ear, to look down in the ravine below. The red Ford Ranger was upturned and totally destroyed, a lazily spinning wheel and a hissing radiator the only sign that it had recently been operational.

"No, I've finished my task here. I will be back in Bialya before you arrive…. Marie Logan?" She chuckled and took one last glance down before striding confidently away. "Don't worry, she won't be troublesome any more. And that little green brat is as good as ours."

* * *

"Phase two of Operation Fallback is ready. What is taking so long?" Luthor demanded and stormed to a bank of security camera displays.

"The protégés are very well equipped, sir," Mercy offered, though she had great hesitation in her voice. "And it would appear they have help."

Luthor glared at the screens, where he could see the teenagers restraining the soldiers' wrists. "Are there no competent employees of the Light?" he demanded.

"Well, I-"

"Yourself included, Mercy," Luthor added, wheeling on her. The woman cowered. "If I recall, it is *you* who is responsible for bringing recruits into our employ."

"All of them come with the highest possible recommenda-"

"Then get _higher_ recommendations," Luthor snapped. "We go to all the effort of publicizing our arrival in London for what? So absolutely everyone can escape? Is Devastation here yet?"

"She's ready to engage Superboy now, Mr. Luthor. She has been instructed to stay on the far side of the tower from Leadenhall so as not to draw attention."

"The police's presence should adequately tie the protégés' hands and keep them from escaping too easily. We can only hope that everything happening at once will keep them from realizing the Robins are no longer our main target but merely an extra treat."

* * *

Within minutes, the proteges and Fentons had diffused through the construction site. Zatanna, meanwhile, had departed for the airport to retrieve the bioship.

From his vantage point on the recently-poured forty-fifth floor, Aqualad stared out the newly placed windows with Maddie at his side. Police and military vehicles and news vans completely encircled the Leadenhall Building. There was a slow, never-ending procession of employees evacuating via the lobby. Armed army officers stood by while policemen screened and interrogated everyone exiting the structure. Fifty floors up, however, the LexCorp Farms offices still mysteriously buzzed with activity.

" _I am in position, Aqualad,"_ Miss Martian said.

" _Is everybody else ready?"_ Aqualad asked.

There was a smattering of confirmations from the group.

" _Remember to draw enough attention *internally* to give Miss Martian a clear path to the shield while not attracting eyes *externally,*"_ Aqualad reminded. _"Organized chaos is the goal."_

" _Organized chaos is this team's specialty,"_ Robin replied with a bounce of humor.

" _Kid Flash, please begin."_

* * *

" _Happily,"_ came the speedster's cocky reply.

Eleven floors above Aqualad, Kid Flash emerged from the shadows next to Artemis. The two patrolling guards didn't notice him, so Kid Flash strolled over to a conduit and ripped it from the wall.

"Top of the mornin' to you, fellas," Kid Flash drawled in a terrible Cockney accent.

The guards turned around just in time for the conduit to slam both of their heads. The men cried out and dropped their weapons. One of them reached for his radio. "All points! Protégé spotted on level fifty-"

The radio shattered in the man's hand as an arrow blasted through it and lodged in the concrete beside him. Artemis lowered her bow and said, "Well, that should get the ball rolling."

Kid Flash kicked the man's face, knocking him unconscious. "You could've at least let him finish."

"Think about it: how many levels are there starting with fifty? They'll have to search them all. Divide and conquer."

"Hmmm," he hummed with a smile, "nice move, beautiful."

" _First two down on fifty six,"_ Artemis informed the team.

" _Superboy, that is your cue,"_ Aqualad replied. _"Miss Martian, begin your search."_

* * *

" _You never did explain what you meant regarding my father,"_ Aqualad asked of his chosen companion.

Maddie sighed and shook her head. _"I thought King Orin would have explained by now," she said. "It's not right to keep secrets from teenagers, as I'm quickly discovering with Danny. But it was your king's wish to conceal this so you would not be...distracted."_

" _What is there to tell me about my father?"_ Aqualad insisted.

" _Calvin Durham,"_ Maddie said, _"is not your father."_

" _Then who-?"_

" _Black Manta,"_ the woman intoned. _"Enemy of the Kingdom of Atlantis, and suspected candidate for Light leadership."_

Kaldur'ahm felt the proverbial carpet rip from beneath him.

* * *

A few floors below Aqualad, Superboy glanced at his chosen partner for chaos-causing, Dani, and nodded once. Dani returned the gesture and stepped aside so the boy could duck out of the stairs. Across an area where installation of electrical wiring and conduits had just begun, Superboy spotted more guards watching over some electricians going about their business. He had just barely begun to cross the space when-

"Clone!"

Superboy halted in his tracks and sneered, wheeling around on his feet. Devastation loomed a few structural bays away.

"You," Superboy growled.

" _No, wait, she's just a distraction!"_ Dani shouted mentally. _"Focus on the plan!"_

"How dare you show your face here!" the monstrous woman continued. "After all that pointless interference in Kansas! We still got your little friends."

"Give it up, lady," Superboy said. "We're getting out of here with _both_ of them."

"Oh we've stopped caring about the Robins at this point," she said, beginning to inch forward. "They're just a bonus."

"Bonus?" Superboy asked. "Bonus...to what?"

"The fish fillet."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Extra kudos to the reader who thought Luthor's appearance in London was suspiciously public! ;)
> 
> This week's references and Easter Eggs:
> 
> \- "I have a brilliant beyond brilliant idea": from one of my favorite movies ever, and probably a subliminal influence over this story, Disney's Parent Trap (1998)
> 
> \- "Well, if even 007 agrees...": Danny is of course comparing his mother to famed superspy James Bond.
> 
> It's safe to say that the next chapter won't be nearly as delayed, so don't worry. ;)

**Author's Note:**

> Fasten your seatbelts, because this will be a WILD ride.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed it! Of course I won't spoil the plot, but I can tell you this won't be a typical rehashing of the Danny-and-Dick-are-long-lost-brothers trope. I wouldn't have decided to turn it into a long fic otherwise.
> 
> Let me know what you thought!


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